President Paul Biya and some 20 African leaders devoted the day of yesterday to examining specific African problems.

Without even waiting for the enthusiasm raised at the opening of the UN Conference on Climate Change last Monday, African leaders took the cue in an important side event yesterday in Paris summoned to examine specific African problems engendered by the threat of climate change. The meeting was called at the instance of the French President, François Hollande who chaired the two-hour session, flanked by the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, the chairperson of the conference and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, President Paul Biya, President Fatta al- Sissi of Egypt and the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. In remarks at the opening of the session, Mr Hollande said many of the issues being considered during the 11-day conference have a direct bearing on the future of Africa which, in his understanding, was paying the highest price for climate degradation and having the least in return. That is why it was necessary, he said, to bring together African leaders as well as a number of international aid and financing institutions to see in what best manner the specific problems of Africa could be properly addressed.

The discussion was centred on three main issues including renewable energy sources, the fight against desertification and the mobilization of the necessary finances for those projects intended to fight the climate change or its effects. On all these issues, the floor was given to the African leaders present beginning with the Egyptian President who is leading an African initiative to promote renewable sources of energy. The project, intended to bring cheap and clean energy to virtually all African households, is expected to cost about 10 billion Euros and on the spot, the French President pledged his government’s plan to make available about two billion Euros for the initiative. The Egyptian leader said Africa has the highest need for energy and hence a good investment for the industrialised countries; reason why he called on the developed countries to support the initiative. The floor was then given to the other leaders present – Presidents Alpha Conde of Guinea, Macky Sall of Senegal, Ibrahim Boubakar Keita of Mali as well as the President of the African Development Bank Dr Adesina - who all made significant inputs for the strategy to get cheaper energy. The ADB President sounded very bullish about the bank’s determination to address Africa’s urgent developmental needs, especially those affected by climate change such as agriculture and the provision of water. We cannot tolerate a situation where the “search for water by young girls has replaced the search of education”, he said.

The Presidents of Ghana, Nigeria, Mauritania and Djibouti then took the floor in turns to address the problem of desertification with an initiative for a Great Green Wall, kind of green zone stretching from Dakar in the far west of Africa to Djibouti in the far east. The specific issue of Lake Chad was taken up by Presidents Paul Biya of Cameroon, Idriss Deby Itno of Chad and Mohamadou Issoufou of Niger. Addressing the wider issues of the conference, President Paul Biya wondered if Africa was really conscious of the dangers lurking it in the face, denouncing the fact in the face of the gravity of the situation, financing was very difficult in coming. “We are however optimistic given the awareness brought about by the Paris conference,” he told the gathering which also included the French Minister of Ecology and a senior member of the organizing team of the Paris conference, Segolene Royal, representatives of the U S government as well as those of the World Bank.

In his closing remarks, President Hollande said Africa had never had so many projects at one given time as now. “There is no shortage of projects, rather, there is a shortage of financing.” He announced with immediate effect that France was taking up assistance to Africa from the current three billion Euro to five billion Euro while some six billion will be disbursed between 2016 and 2020 within the framework of Africa’s energy problems with two billion going into the renewable energy initiative. The French President also promised accrued aid in resolving the problems of Lake Chad in consonance with the plan of action recently released by the Lake Chad Basin Commission