Category: Events

Online workshop: Validating African climate service and research infrastructure needs and challenges

July 1st (in English) 9am – 2pm SAST (UTC+2) – registration form

July 8th (in French) 9am – 2pm GMT (UTC+0) – registration form

KADI organises an online workshop in July 2024 to discuss, validate and improve findings from the project activities. We have invited actors who already have engaged with the project activities to take part in the workshop. However, if you would like to join the discussion, we warmly welcome you to the workshop!

Aim of the workshop

In the workshop, we would like to explore with all participants the climate service needs that emerge in different organisations and sectors that work on timely climate related challenges. The aim is to map climate infrastructure requirements or other climate inputs and information that could be supported by a Pan-African research infrastructure. We shall find ways to support various concrete climate service needs related to e.g. temperatures, air quality, CO2 circulation, and other climatic phenomena. In addition to this, we hope to connect with stakeholders who would be interested to continue working with the KADI team during the project, and also afterwards.

There will be two duplicate events, first one taking place on July 1st in English, and the second on July 8th in French.

Would you like to take part in the workshop? You are warmly welcome to register via this Google Form: https://forms.gle/foiQqBYA4RP6AzvMA (in English) and https://forms.gle/otGU7ozArZPT69Az9 (in French).

The KADI project was represented at the 5th Africa Climate Talks at the 10th Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-10) in April 2024 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This article provides some context and highlights and interventions from the project’s perspective.

Africa’s GDP is reduced by 5% annually because of climate change. Africa losses 500Billoin dollars of the income generated every year. There is urgent need to stay on track towards Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063. The key areas for transition are food systems, climate change, digital connectivity, energy security and education. We are at the midpoint of the implementation of the SDGs, in the second 10-year plan for agenda 2063 adopted in February 2024 and on the road to the Summit of the future.

“Africa has data and research in uncoordinated silos which is invisible and therefore not shareable or transferable to similar contexts. Africa needs collaboration and integration.”

The 5th Africa Climate Talks which held on April 22nd emphasised the need to democratise and strengthen Africa’s voice in the global climate negotiations, recognizing Africa’s right to development. The KADI Project starts from identifying climate service needs from the perspective of the African context by African scientists. This is our contribution to amplifying the voices of Africans in defining how to tackle a crisis from which it is experiencing the most tangible impacts. This means co-design and co-creation supporting and working with communities as done in different city pilots in the project.

One way of strengthening Africa’s voice is in terms of generation three of the National Determined Contributions (NDCs), including:

• Mainstreaming the social content and ESG. The structural and economic transition toward net zero must be just and the benefits of transitioning to a net-zero emissions economy must address equity concerns.
• Policy integration of NDCs and systemic integration.
• Mainstreaming of early warning systems of government and institutional actions.

In the panel discussions the interventions, comments and highlights from the KADI representatives centered on the following:

• Africa does not lack solutions. It needs collaboration, transferability, and visibility.
• Indigenous knowledge must be given its rightful place. Knowledge and data should be defined in consideration of Africa’s modes of learning, information generation and dissemination. Data is not limited to numbers and statistics. Storytelling and visual communication are vital. This will provide access to reliable, shared, and multi-stakeholder generated data. There is the need to strengthen foundational data systems to reduce fragmentation and duplication within and between countries.
• 90% of the current data on the SDGs in Africa were generated in the last two years. Most of this data is regional. Data from sub national ecosystems are mostly invisible.
• To avoid biases from models developed out of Africa, there is need to facilitate the integration of non-traditional data and use of the expertise of data experts by national agencies.
• There is need for partnerships that support training on data issues.
• In terms of governance, there is need to deliver on strong institutions, policy coordination and integration. The culture of data packaged for policy needs to be strengthened to reduce the disconnect between policies and data.
• There is a need for innovative funding mechanisms that recognize the invaluable interconnectedness between different actors and sectors of society. Funding organizations should talk to each other before talking to recipients. There is need for more involvement of ‘new’ development partners, especially policy and civil society partners. What is the tipping point in terms of quantity and duration of funding? What kinds of funding allow for effective and long-term solutions.
• Africa needs to leverage the power of its biggest human resource – youth – in meaningful ways, not as a token participant.

At the climate talks, Africa’s net zero status was discussed with opinions differing on whether Africa is net zero or not. It is worth highlighting that the continent’s carbon balance is influenced by a dynamic interplay of emissions from human activities and carbon absorption by natural ecosystems. While some regions may still act as carbon sinks, the overall trend indicates a decreasing capacity to absorb carbon, raising concerns about Africa’s net carbon status. Comprehensive and reliable data on emissions and carbon sequestration are essential to accurately assess whether Africa can achieve net zero status. This is also shown in the publication from some of the scientists participating in the KADI project, as described in our earlier article found here.

14-19th April, 2024
Vienna (Austria) and online

The EGU General Assembly 2024 brings together geoscientists from all over the world to one meeting covering all disciplines of the Earth, planetary, and space sciences. The EGU aims to provide a forum where scientists, especially early career researchers, can present their work and discuss their ideas with experts in all fields of geoscience.

This year KADI project is being presented in the following presentations:

Oral presentation

Thursday 18th April, 14:55-15:05, Room 2.23

Designing a pan-African climate observation system to deliver societal benefit through climate action: The KADI project

Karlina Ozolina, Theresia Bilola, Matthew Saunders, Emmanuel Salmon, Ingunn Skjelvan, Tommy Bornman, Jörg Klausen, Gregor Feig, Lutz Merbold and Werner L. Kutsch

Poster presentation

Wednesday 17th April, 16:15-18:00, Hall X1, X1.53

Taking stock of observing capabilities for designing a pan-African atmospheric and climate research infrastructure (KADI): Lessons learnt from Kenya and best practices

Jörg Klausen, Sarina Danioth, Patricia Nying’uro, Joyce Kimutai, Kennedy Thiong’o, Martin Steinbacher, Lutz Merbold, Niina Käyhkö, Matthew Saunders, Theresia Bilola, Emmanuel Salmon, and Werner L. Kutsch

If you would like to meet up with the presenters during the conference, we are happy to hear from you!

As part of the KADI project, we invite 15 participants from the African continent to join a four-day training course on coastal oceanographic and carbon data collection, analysis and sharing.

The course will take place in Gqeberha, South Africa 12-15 March 2024.
The course will encompass sensor overview, hands-on training, fieldwork, data collection, data analysis and management, and international networking. The participants might be students, technicians, or early career researchers affiliated to educational/research/ governmental institutions working or studying in this field, and thus, it is required that participant have some basic knowledge about oceanography, greenhouse gas/carbon observations and marine systems. Good English language proficiency is required.

The training programme will be delivered by local and international researchers with extensive expertise in the relevant fields.
We will cover your international travel expenses, accommodation, and food during the course. Successful participants will be expected to write a summary report at the end of the training course outlining the benefit of the programme to their work/study.

To apply for a place on this course, please complete the application form below.  Deadline for application 1st of November 2023.

Priority will be given to candidates with a background in marine science or equivalent who are committed to use the acquired competency at their home institutions. In the selection process we aim for a balanced gender composition.

Each candidate will be responsible for obtaining visa to South Africa – if relevant.

The timeline of the process will be as follows:

• Submission of application – 1 November 2023
• Selection of candidates – 15 November 2023
• Reply to all applicants about the selection – 17 November 2023
• Confirmation by candidates – 1 December 2023
• Invitation letters to selected candidates – 5 December 2023
• Training course – 12-15 March 2024

For more info about the training course, please contact the organisers

Dr. Tommy Bornman (tg.bornman@saeon.nrf.ac.za) at SAEON (South Africa),
Dr. Abdirahman M. Omar (abom@norceresearch.no) at NORCE (Norway), or
Dr. Matthew Saunders (saundem@tcd.ie) at TCD (Ireland).