By P. Sarojini
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CWBN)_ The African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) Secretary General Dr Omar Farouk Ibrahim stated that the organization will stay loyal and devoted in its policies and commitments towards climate change in Africa. He further briefed that the climate change issue has become one of the top agenda globally and that the leading countries have taken the issue seriously and started working on it.
Dr Farouk Ibrahim delivered the opening speech at the Sixth Edition of East Africa Oil & Gas Summit 2020, where he mentioned the United Nations COP21 ambition which is planning to put an end to the use of fossil fuels in the near future. He said that the future of the oil and gas industry of African Continent will be taken care by the organization and will be improved simultaneously.
Dr Farouk Ibrahim stated that APPO has given significant importance to the African climate change issues and has urged the African industries and stakeholders to join the organization’s climate change goals. The organization said that in order to meet the UN climate change goals, they seek support from the industries and stakeholders to work in collaboration with them to provide a complete solution to the African climate change issues especially in the oil and gas industry of Africa.
Dr Farouk Ibrahim discussed about the role of energy in the development of the continent and in the life of people and said, “Our continent has a larger share on the world’s population living without electricity. Our per capita energy use is the least among all the continent in the world. No progress can be made without energy. This is something we all acknowledge, and we need to do something about it”. He added, “As we discuss issues about energy in Africa. We also urge you to come up with solutions that will help the continent and its people get the energy they need to make a difference in their life.”
With the current global warming issues, the climate challenge has become one of the serious factors to be considered with immediate effect. With climate change emerging as a top agenda globally, countries, cities, the private sector, civil society, leaders and individual citizens have all started working on the issue. Over 150 countries have already submitted their national climate change goals which covers approximately 90% of the global emissions.
The Paris Climate Conference is officially referred as the 21st Conference of the Parties or “COP” to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The COP conducts a conference every year to discuss on the climate challenges and the effective steps to be followed in battling the climate change.
Edited by Elishya Perera
