 Thank you very much, Camilla. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It's a great honour and privilege to be invited here today and to do this valuable award lecture. In many ways, Camilla, I think you kind of planted the seed in me because I saw you in September in New York. And I was wondering about what would make a reasonably intelligent lecture. And you said to me, just think about something strategic. Not necessarily something normative but something strategic. And I think that's really planted the seed in me to talk about Africa's climate change action. But more in terms of what is Africa doing and how important it is that we look towards writing a new narrative on climate change. So in many ways, I feel that I do not need a better compass than that reward to guide me through this discussion. And to use the foundations of human security, social justice, equity to help shape my talk. As for the principles of justice and egalitarianism, there was no better champion and indeed better visionary advocate than bad reward. So let's turn to Africa. Throughout history, Africa has been actively upside, writing and rewriting different narratives of its development trajectory. Climate change, I would say, provides another compelling opportunity to scan through these narratives and to rewrite parts of it. I've deliberately chosen the title, Rewriting the Narrative on Africa and Climate Change, a case of standing needy in the river and dying of thirst. Cos I do feel that Africa's situation is very often a paradox. It's a continent of plenty, but then there is so much poverty. This is also precisely because I'd like to argue that the time has come for Africa to write a new narrative, but to use climate change as a business opportunity, a business opportunity that will come with sustained growth, new technologies, job creation in climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture, water and energy. Climate change has been called one of the most defining challenges of the 21st century. But here, it is interesting that part of the narrative, we tend to hear a lot of discussion about Africa being the least contributor to Grimhouse gas emissions and Africa having the least capacity to adapt to climate change. What's interesting in this case is that climate change does provide one of the greatest opportunities that we have to draw up a social contract. This is a social contract that will unite the interest of current generation as well as the needs of future generations. Body would be best today to anchor a good part of my discussion on the element of human security, because I think human security would give me a number of strands that I think would be fundamental for this discussion. Human security, because it contains issues of governance, environmental risk threats, as well as opportunities. All of this is intricately designed within the rich tapestry of development. Now I wonder what that would have made of all this. She envisioned a new humanism that was predicated on morality and one in which our collective survival is tied to the notion that we survive as a human race. Human security must be part of our collective DNA, or we will become imbued with an extreme sense of self, and without any moral compass we will self-destruct and perish together. In fact, Barbara Ward remarked and I quote, our physical unity has gone ahead of our moral unity. Barbara Ward talked about the irreversible geophysical unity of one sheared and single planet, and she concluded, I quote, We cannot change it, it envelops us, provides us, sustains us. Our only choice is to preserve it in corporate adventures or to do, or to end it and ourselves in a common ruin. Ladies and gentlemen, rewriting the climate change narrative in Africa must be done with history as the main rationale, balanced with a sense of purpose. To get this sense of history I'm going to journey through three-time horizons. The first-time horizon is the pre-colonial and formal colonial period, and I hope that this will help us understand just how important natural resources were in shaping the economies of Europe. The second-time horizon is the post-colonial period, and in this way I would like to scan very briefly the last 20 years of climate negotiations. And in the third-time horizon I would like to look at Africa post-2015 to ask this question. What will enable the management of Africa's natural resources to promote and sustain growth? And how does climate change help or hinder? Scanning through my first-time horizon and the colonial period I would like to perhaps just share with you the words of Madame Zuma, who, as most of you would know, is the chairperson of the African Union Commission. And this is what she said. The importance of natural resources to Africa's history and to its future cannot be overemphasised. We were colonised because of our natural resources. Our current status in the global economy is defined by our natural resources, and our future will be determined by the way in which we utilise our natural resources. End of good. So if we look back in time from the 1600s to the early 1800s, the wealth of nation was based on mercantilism, and political influence was tied largely to the size of nations' merchant fleet and its accumulation of tradeable goods. By the end of the 1700s, some nations were already shifting towards protectionism while attempting to improve their infrastructure. And towards the end of the 19th century, Western Europe was experiencing the long depression. Markets were saturated by the outputs of new industries, springing all over Europe, hungry for cheap labour and raw materials. With high and ever increasing inequality, Max was predicting that oppressed working classes of Europe would rise and overthrow the owners of industry. Africa was divided up by colonial powers to provide raw materials for the industries of Europe. And in so doing, Africa was buying off urban discontent in the Metropoles and funding the political administration, social programmes and economic development. By the end of the independence era, Africa was a net exporter of food. From independence throughout to the 1990s, most of Africa was characterised by high dependency on natural resources and weak growth. Africa has been deficient in many of the growth indicators, whether these be openness to trade, public infrastructure, provision of health services, etc. In recent times, there has been an upturn in terms of trade due to higher commodities with East Asian demand. But Africa's growth remained mainly export-led and this can be observed in the continent's natural resource depletion. African agriculture is poorly integrated with other sectors such as manufacturing. Africa did fail to industrialise quickly and produces remain on the lower ranks of the global value chain. This was partly as a result of the exigencies of structural adjustment and insistence by international financial institution to focus on the so-called comparative advantage. Today, the continent imports one-third of its grain. This dependency will greatly increase its vulnerability to fluctuate in terms of trade and variations in availability of imported food stuff. Most of us witnessed and saw headlines of the food hike of 2008. Today, Africa is battling against climate change impacts and these impacts are already resulting in agricultural losses amounting to 2% to 7% of GDP. Given the importance of agriculture as a revenue earner and as the biggest employer in most African countries, the livelihoods of millions are at stake. Ladies and gentlemen, food insecurity is largely due to unstable food systems. Yet Africa has no choice but to become more food secure. Otherwise, how will it feed a population of 4 billion by the end of the century? The only way it can do that is if it's able to take agriculture with it as a high performing sector. What would this mean? It means that this will become a sector that will be able to utilise critical sectors such as energy and water and become the basis of industrialisation. It also means a sector that can realise potential from wealth of raw materials that are available. Yet, as you know, economic growth in South Saharan Africa is rising. We've growth forecast to exceed 5% in 2014. The performance is boosted by rising investment in natural resources and infrastructure and stronger household spending. Indeed, ladies and gentlemen, most of you would recall that 10 years ago the economies had a title that saved Africa the hopeless continent. And now 10 years down the line, we've seen a lot of titles, a lot of headlines about Africa rising. Indeed, a wall bank report claimed that Africa could be on the brink of an economic take off much like China was 30 years ago. And the paper noted that in both cases the mass population of young workers stood at the ready to boost growth. So it's important to understand that Africa was very much a participant, however unwilling in the development of today's globalised world economy. And whether we agree or not, this globalised economy is one in which Africa finds itself in the periphery. And this is as true for the agricultural industrial revolution as it is for the enormous rise of the tertiary sector in the latter half of the 20th century. So Africa has also been witness to the concomitant growth of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to the extent of almost 400 parts of million today. And this growth will lead to inevitable loss and damage if it's not stemmed. This participation, as well as constantly evolving nature of the now globalised economy would help to explain why Africa cannot produce similar patterns of development. Now, Africa cannot produce an industrial revolution nor can it produce the kind of agricultural transformation that we've seen in the industrial world. I think partly because we know that there is a problem of atmospheric space, so much of the atmospheric space has been taken up already. But more than that, Africa was also part of this peripheralised economy and stayed in the periphery basically looking in. So how does it move from the periphery? Africa must seek new avenues of low-carbon innovative growth. A low-carbon growth trajectory that features new technological economic processes. This new road will increase Africa's primary sector base growth and will also surpass the performance of the much rehearsed millennium development growth. This is not to say that Africa can turn its back on primary extraction nor can it seek to expand its secondary and tertiary sectors however mobile the latter sector has become. What I'm proposing here is a new paradigm of development for Africa. The new narrative needs to be written in ways that understand the finite nature of natural resources. So as custodian of so much of the world's potential raw materials, Africa can manage these resources whilst engineering its pathway to sustainable development, particularly in the domain of food production and security. And at the same time also mitigating emissions while adapting to enhance African and world human security. And I guess in so doing Africa would open the door as well to its own transition out of the periphery by exploiting the benefits of growth in primary commodities. And by applying the science that describes and defines vulnerability of the world to the ever-growing impacts of extreme weather and climate change, Africa can channel and promote new green and blue low-carbon development. So there are vital sectors that Africa must look into and these sectors are energy, information technology, microelectronics that must connect to one another and becoming more coherent and more compatible. So Africa will embark on a new path of sustainable development and it's a path that will align Africa with world demand and would help it also in promoting the most modern practices and aimed at reducing social inequalities in Africa. And these actions will also help in reducing the risk of conflict and building social ecological resilience in the interests of both Africa and the global community. The word new is key here. It recognises the inescapable fact that Africa can only write a new narrative, a new climate compatible narrative of development for itself in relation to the rest of the world by accepting its past role in history. And in short, Africa can fashion its own contrary of wave, but one that does not succumb to the boom and boost cycles that historically have characterised economic development and brought the world to the brink of environmental catastrophe. So in pursuing such a development path, Africa can become a leader in the climate debate and action post 2015. So what does it need to do? What are the key chapters that are important for this new narrative? I will say that the first chapter will be on governance. The new narrative means that the governance landscape will need to fundamentally change. The policy space must be enlarged and it must be enlarging in ways that would accommodate other actors. The state and the urgency of climate change assign central responsibility to the governments as designers and implementers of adaptation responses. But the global architecture to manage climate change, including financing of climate adaptation and mitigation, cannot be left in the hands of the state alone. It needs a complex web of multilateral and bilateral mechanisms that depend in turn on a properly functional and capacitated state, a state with appropriate national and subnational institutions to function. In that the state has been very absent in some cases in the development and the management of many adaptation strategies. Privatisation of many services such as water and sewage, energy generation, transportation and agriculture has led to the state withdrawing from the sectors in which adaptation will be key. So a new narrative can reinforce the importance of public-private partnerships. Climate change governance in Africa called to renew public engagement in formulating national responses, a review of the quality of growth and development processes and greater emphasis on equity. In such a scenario and given the challenges of foreign direct investment and market expansion for climate governance, a key governance question is how can the capacities of the states and by extension regional institutions be strengthened and connected to subnational levels where adaptation takes shape to ensure the emergence of a robust climate governance that would support Africa's development. And the second chapter of this new narrative I think will be on leadership. So as we're looking towards post 2015 and especially towards Paris, how can we start building a compelling case for a new narrative that emphasises opportunities rather than constraints? What do we need to place Africa at the centre stage of the agenda setting debate? And in the past Africa has been unable to surmount the barriers that have prevented it from making an entry point into key negotiations instruments such as the clean development mechanism. Now some countries in Africa have done this already. I think Ethiopia is a very interesting story and case because bold leadership has really provided and produced some very good results where Ethiopia has decided by 2022 it wants to decarbonise its economy. And it took a very clear vision and clear rationale to be able to get there. So Ethiopia's climate resilient green economy was developed to insulate the country from the impacts of climate change by identifying environmentally sustainable economic opportunities that would hold the key to accelerating Ethiopia's development. What else was needed? I think I've already mentioned that it took bold leadership through the person of Prime Minister, former Prime Minister Melisyn Aiwi. It also took a clear governance strategy and so the government was able to design a number of fast-track initiatives which have the potential to propel economic growth, capture large abatements as well as attract carbon financing. Let us also turn to another country in Africa, Mozambique. That's another champion which is also taking proactive steps to become carbon neutral. And we have seen other countries that have identified opportunities in the context of climate finance to sharpen their leadership in climate policy. Benin is an interesting country as well, an interesting story. Benin has launched a very ambitious reforestation programme which it has 10 million inhabitants in Benin and the government of Benin has decided to plant one tree for each inhabitants. So they called it Demillion Dam for Demillion Dam. So very, very ambitious as well. And what's exciting about such stories is that in the case of Benin, through this reforestation programme, they're trying to see how they can join the dots of both adaptation and mitigation. So where climate action must be anchored and equity based on common but differentiated responsibilities, the reality is that many of the climate policy instruments reinforce a symmetry between annex one and annex and non annex one countries. Climate finance, as you know, has been one of the most intractable aspects of the negotiations. And with the unveiling of moneys, we've heard today that we think should expect roughly about nine billion dollars, I think, in the green climate fund. As you know, a lot of the moneys that we're going into the fast start finance, the African Climate Policy Centre, for instance, have done a study and it's an interesting choice of war because we were saying that we're talking about fast start finance but it happened very slow in coming. And the study that the ACPC did mentioned that a lot of these moneys were actual pledges. So there's this whole debate about what is new and what's additional. I think, however, given the fact that many of these finance and funds that are available are talking about mitigation projects, that it's also now time for Africa to align itself on that mitigation avenue, that mitigation pathway. I would say it's been 20 years that Africa has been talking about adaptation, adaptation, adaptation. And whilst we know that adaptation is an imperative, Africa can and should also mitigate, not for emissions reductions but mitigate for development. A low carbon development will develop its energy and agricultural sectors and this will help in reducing emissions in deforestation and agriculture as well as enable Africa to launch ambitious climate smart agricultural initiatives. Indeed, most Africans and most Africans in the negotiations actually would say that the negotiations have been painfully slow and this has actually prompted a number of Africans to call for an alternative space. What does an alternative space mean? It means that you will take the most progressive countries who can pull their resources and they can talk about some of the parts of deforestation that have not gone fast enough. They can invent if you like your own fast lane and talk about issues related to agriculture, red and red plus. The third chapter in this narrative is energy. Across Africa climate change provides the sphere for countries to invest in renewable energy technologies to turn agriculture into a booming industry and to build human and institutional capacities geared towards a knowledge economy that will support innovation, research and development. There must be also investment in climate services so that climate services can act as a credible resource for funds and a range of people that are dependent on natural resource assets. I think we all know that without climate science, which is the very basis of any good adaptation and mitigation initiative, then a lot of the management of climate impacts would be shortleaved. So we really do need climate science as the catalyst to drive any adaptation and mitigation initiatives. Unlocking Africa's agriculture would release the potential to reduce poverty and increase the current growth rate. Most industrialised nations have achieved growth accompanied or preceded by agricultural transformation. Agriculture employs about 70-75% of African population. It contributes about 30% to the African GDP and it constitutes 50% of total export value. Yet agricultural productivity averaging around 1.5 tonnes per hectare is the lowest in the world. Indeed, less than 10% of African arable land is currently used for food production and only 6% of arable land is irrigated. So Africa needs stable, full systems to be able to grow sustainably. Therefore, leveraging the continent's agriculture is critical given Africa's grain population and ever-increasing demand for food. The continent's agricultural sector is yet to be capitalised as an engine for propelling economic growth and transformation. Indeed, some countries have been moving towards practices that can integrate climate change strategies to increase food production and sees all developmental benefits the sector has to offer. Uganda, for instance, thanks to being one of the lowest users of artificial fertilisers, has been making great strides in the organic food market. Uganda's certified organic exports have increased from 3.7 million to 22.8 million in less than four years. In Zambia, the sales of surplus crops that apply ecosystem-based adaptation grew from 26 to 69 in recent years. So, in the next 20 years, Africa's demand for energy will increase in line with its population and economic growth. The continent's current energy supply is characterised by unpredictable and insecure power sources. But the strong correlation between economic growth and energy consumption, Africa should move towards sustainable and renewable sources of energy. Today, the continent accounts for only 4% of the total energy consumption, but it represents 15% of the world's population. And I'm sure you would agree with me that this in itself is a big mismatch. Africa has the world largest potential for renewable energy power generation through its vast solar biomass, wind resources, as well as geothermal and other sources. So, this potential could drive economic growth with significant job creation and environmental gains. And there are examples also across the continent. Cape Ver, for instance, has a target to generate 50% of its energy from renewable energy sources by 2050. It has one of the largest wind power projects. And Kenya is also the first country in Africa to generate electricity from geothermal sources. South Africa has 64 energy projects, which will add around 3,900 megawatts of wind, solar, photovol type and concentrating power to South African energy mix. So, setting clear goals and establishing a dedicated and authorised agency responsible for promoting, initiating and financing renewable energy projects by African governments could assist in creating private investor confidence in renewable energy. And governments also, by guaranteeing the purchase of electricity from renewable energy sources at a predetermined attractive price, could also stimulate new private investment in the renewable energy sector. In addition, feeding tariffs could be an effective policy instrument to stimulate investment in renewable energy generation and can also offer long-term contracts to renewable energy producers. So, my first chapter, I'm almost there, is the importance of investing in people. So, Africa's richness do not only come from natural resources, but from its people. This is something I've said before, but I believe that women and youth remain the single largest on-tap potential that the continent has. We have seen a report from UNICEF, which talks about just the population in terms of shared demographics, how this is going to increase by 2050. And the report mentions that the future of humanity is increasingly African, and it shows massive shifts in the world's child population towards Africa. The number of Africans under 18 may swell by two-thirds to reach almost a billion by 2050. So, again, in terms of shared demographics, and I think this is not a foolish or reckless statement to make, but I believe that Africa may well end up being the custodian of the world. So, not investing in the African youth can really constitute a blessing or a curse. The youths constitute an unlimited potential to expand Africa's workforce, as well as promote job creation and entrepreneurship. We must invest in the right skills, training capacity and access to technology to take advantage of emerging opportunities. And this is why my institution, UNECA, through the Clean Day Initiative, would be launching a one million fellowship programme that would help build a critical mass of young African climate scientists. My final chapter is on science and technology. Africa cannot win the climate change, cannot win the fight against climate change rather without taking science and technology along with it. Innovation, as you all know, plays a central role in building a transition to a low-carbon economy. Innovation and technological progress are by far the most important drivers of long-term growth in productivity and output. So, African governments fully recognise the role they play in endogenous and self-sustainable development. And interestingly, in 1980, the Lagos Plan of Action laid out a very clear strategy for deliberate deployment of science and technology. And here again, there are visible champions. Rwanda has revolutionised its information and communication technology, ICT, and demonstrated that it's possible to live for dirty and inefficient technologies and products. In few African countries, climate science and information services have become transformative tools for African farmers. So, a deliberative move to mitigate poor development, as I've said before, rather than for emissions reduction, will keep the African kite rising against the wind. In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, Africa has tremendous wealth of human and natural resources. And yes, we all know that if this is properly coordinated, the world will offer a unique set of chances to overcome climate change challenges and turn risk into opportunities. The very fact that Africa has 54 countries, imagine 54 voices on the international forum, and if they're all stinging from the same hymships, that would be very much a force to be reckoned with. We're counting down to Paris, and Africa and the world is preparing for a successful treaty. The space for Africa to resolve its problem is shrinking, and the pace of the negotiations I've said is denying farmers, pastoralists and fishers their opportunity for a reasonable chance of arriving at a sustainable livelihood. So, African communities need not spend the next 20 years asking why a continent that has 60% of the world's arable land remains the only region where people still die of farming. And African youth cannot also wonder whether Africa will continue to rise with as few as 35 scientists and engineers per million inhabitants. The principles of self-interest and common but differentiated responsibility calls for a shared vision across the world, one that allows us to manage climate change impacts for the benefit of humanity and for the sustainable growth of Africa and the world's children. Full compliance with the Convention, as we know it, will not prevent dangerous interference with the climate system, but we must act to seize the opportunity for international cooperation. We need to produce a strong enough current that would lift all the boats, like the metaphorical river that I referred to in my introduction. In spite of the flows, the bends and the turns, Africa has limitless potential to win the fight against climate change. And in the words of Bible Ward, I quote, the first microorganism must have been minute enough in the wash of primitive oceans, yet it had within it the seed of life. Let us at least be bold enough to hope and where we can begin to act.