2019 Tutu Fellow Akim Daouda has submitted the Technical report on the technical analysis of the technical annex to the first biennial update report of Gabon submitted in accordance with decision 14/CP.19, paragraph 7, on 29 December 2021.
If that makes your eyes water - the document outlines the pathway by which the UN validated the 90 million REDD+ climate credits from the data Gabon submitted for review. The key outcome is it marks Gabon's entrance into the carbon credit market.
The UNFCC is the Climate Change entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change. REDD+ is short for 'Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation' .
The technical annex in the report Akim submitted provides data and information on the activities reducing emissions from deforestation, reducing emissions from forest degradation, conservation of forest carbon stocks, and sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. The report covered the period from 2010 to 2018. While Gabon provided this information in December 2021, it paved the way for the UNFCC to validate the information in the report and for Gabon to create further economic opportunities in climate change. Akim said it also creates opportunities for investments in Gabon to protect its biodiversity and forests that double as an investment in the planet.
In a post on LinkedIn, Akim shared how he had been in Washington in October 2022 on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group annual Meetings where they discussed this milestone. The full report can be read at the UNFCC website.
Bloomberg also interviewed Akim at COP 27, in which he shared how private and public sector collaboration can be powerful tools in the fight against climate change.
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