Climate change has increased the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events in many African countries, causing loss of lives, diminished livelihoods, reduced crop and livestock production, and damaged infrastructure, among other adverse impacts.

Climate change is also likely to negatively impact Africa’s future development and achievement of its development goals–that focus on ensuring food and nutrition security, affordable and decent housing, increased manufacturing and affordable healthcare.

Many countries have launched their National Climate Change Response Strategies (NCCCRS). The NCCRS recognizes the threat climate change poses to sustainable development and advocates the need to integrate climate change information into national government policies.

Many countries have also legislated climate change. The legistation requires countries to develop National Climate Change Action Plans (NCCAP) to guide the mainstreaming of adaptation and mitigation actions into sector functions of the National and sub-national governments.

Most of these action plans support development goals by providing mechanisms and measures to achieve low carbon climate resilient development in a manner that prioritizes adaptation.

This plans also provide frameworks to deliver Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

In light of the foregoing, ESAMI has designed a training programme for Legislative Environmental Committee members, with the aim of raising awareness on the drivers of climate change, its impacts, and the available response strategies, all in preparation for the UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP) meetings which take place every year in November.

The objective of the training programme is to raise awareness of legislative members on the global conversation about climate change and tools to enhance their capacity in preparation for UN climate change COP conferences which take place in November every year.