PARIS / AFRICA CLIMATE CHANGE

At a gathering of African leaders at the United Nations climate change conference (COP21), UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that their continent has an enormous stake in the success of the global event which aims to reach a new universal climate agreement to limit the rise of global temperature.UNIFEED-UNTV

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:04
• Production Date: 1 December 2015
• Asset Language: English
• Personal Subject: BAN KI-MOON; FRANÇOIS HOLLANDE
• Subject Topical: CLIMATE CHANGE
• Geographic Subject: AFRICA
• MAMS Id: 1522538
• Parent Id: 1522538
• Alternate Title: unifeed151201a

Description

STORY: PARIS / AFRICA CLIMATE CHANGE
TRT: 02:04
SOURCE: UNIFEED-UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / FRENCH / NATS

DATELINE: 01 DECEMBER 2015, PARIS, FRANCE

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, conference
2. Wide shot, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
“Africa is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Much of its economy depends on a climate-sensitive natural resource base, including rain-fed subsistence agriculture. Disruptions in food or water supplies pose serious risks not only for your economies but also for political stability, particularly in fragile states.”
4. Med shot, participants
SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
“COP21 got off to a good start yesterday. Africa has an enormous stake in its success. Your personal engagement and ownership will be essential in producing the ambitious agreement that Africa’s people and the entire world need.”
5. Med shot, participants
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
“With the plummeting price of solar and other renewables, many African countries are moving quickly to embrace a greener pathway that still enables them to meet growing energy demand.”
7. Med shot, participants
8. SOUNDBITE (English) John Dramani Mahama, President of Ghana:
“We can plant as many trees in Africa as possible, if we don’t provide alternative fuel for cooking in Africa, then people will continue to cut down the trees to cook. And that’s just the reality. In Ghana at independence, 50 years ago, we had 8 million hectares of forest cover, rain forest cover. Today we have1.5 million hectares, and people depend on charcoal and wood to continue to cook. If we continue at that rate, you know, there will come a time when there will be absolutely no forest cover.”
9. Wide shot, conference.

Storyline

At a gathering of African leaders at the United Nations climate change conference (COP21), UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that their continent has an enormous stake in the success of the global event which aims to reach a new universal climate agreement to limit the rise of global temperature.

Ban told top government officials at a High-level meeting at the Paris-Le Bourget site of the conference, in the north-east of the French capital that “Africa is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.”

He said much of its economy depends on a climate-sensitive natural resource base, including rain-fed subsistence agriculture. Disruptions in food or water supplies pose serious risks not only for your economies but also for political stability, particularly in fragile states.”

Noting that COP21 “got off to a good start yesterday,” the UN chief said the leaders' personal engagement and ownership will be essential in producing the “ambitious agreement that Africa's people and the entire world need.”

He reminded leaders that sustainable energy offers huge economic opportunities: “With the plummeting price of solar and other renewables, many African countries are moving quickly to embrace a greener pathway that still enables them to meet growing energy demand.”

Also addressing the meeting, President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana spoke about deforestation and said “we can plant as many trees in Africa as possible, if we don’t provide alternative fuel for cooking in Africa, then people will continue to cut down the trees to cook."

He noted that Ghana, 50 years ago, had "8 million hectares of forest cover, rain forest cover. Today we have 1.5 million hectares, and people depend on charcoal and wood to continue to cook."

At that rate, he said, "there will come a time when there will be absolutely no forest cover.”

Other participants included Michel Kafando, Transitional President of Burkina Faso, Paul Biya, President of Cameroon, Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria:, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, President of Mali, and Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, President of Egypt