UCL STEaPP, UCL Energy Institute, CDKN and the French Embassy host:

"The Paris Agreement - What does it mean for Africa?"

The Paris Agreement that emerged from the latest round of climate negotiations “…aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change…”. The Agreement represents a turning point in global efforts to limit future temperature rises to well below 2°C in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication. But what does this mean for Africa?

This is the second in a series of three events organised jointly by UCL Energy Institute and the French Embassy, under the auspices of the long-established relationship between the French Embassy’s Science and Technology Department and UCL’s Grand Challenges programme, to be held termly through the 2015-16 academic year.

A high-level panel discussion will be held at University College London (UCL) during the evening of 23rd March 2016 to discuss and debate the implications of the Paris Agreement for Africa and its development. There will be an old fashioned social networking opportunity for the panel and audience members, with refreshments, to be held in the Roberts Foyer G02. The audience will be encouraged to provide ideas for research and collaboration. Following the panel discussion, and during refreshments, there will be pens, paper and boards available for people to share ideas emerging from the discussion. The idea is to maximise information gathering in and around the panel discussion.

The panel discussion will address questions such as: Does the Paris Agreement satisfy the African negotiations position? What are the implications for Africa of the science in the IPCC fifth assessment report? And, how can we move from political agreement to concrete action? There will also be a special focus on the African Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI), nationally determined contributions, adaptation communications and how to improve African input to the upcoming IPCC sixth assessment report (AR6).

About the speakers:

Mr Seyni Nafo, Chairperson of the African Group of Climate Negotiators (AGN)

Professor Youba Sokona, Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Doctor Fatima Denton, Director of Special Initiatives Division (and Coordinator of the African Climate Policy Center), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)

Doctor Michel Colombier, Scientific Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI)

Mr Said Mouline, General Director of the National Agency for the Development of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ADEREE)

Note for attendees:

If you have any questions on this issue you would like the panellists to consider after the discussion, please submit it to: jeremy.webb.15@ucl.ac.uk and copy (CC) romy.farhat.13@ucl.ac.uk

We expect this event to be extremely popular, and places will be on a first come first served basis. We only allow one ticket registration per email address. If multiple tickets are registered to a single attendee you will be contacted and the duplicate tickets will be cancelled. If you are no longer able to attend please email jeremy.webb.15@ucl.ac.uk and copy (CC) romy.farhat.13@ucl.ac.uk

The panel discussion will promptly start at 6:00pm.

If you are unable to secure a ticket please note this event will be live streamed on UCL Live and posted on the UCL-Energy Youtube Channel, the UCL-STEaPP Youtube Channel and UCL TV youtube Channel following the event.

Join in the conversation on Twitter: #COP21