AFRICA’s relentless effort to mop resources, adopt and become climate change resilient has received a fillip from cooperating partners with a pledge to provide $55-million in mitigation to save the continent from calamities.
With a summit by key donors-the African Union, the International Monetary Fund, the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), Africa Adaptation Initiative and the Climate Vulnerable Forum opening in Rotterdam, Netherlands this week.
Arguably, to help African countries to adapt to the effects of climate change, there is urgent need to dialogue among players on the fate of the continent ahead of the COP27 meeting being hosted by Egypt in November this year.
The financiers through GCA seek “high-level dialogue” ahead of COP27 with African countries agreeing on a common push to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius — a goal that scientists fear is increasingly elusive.
Arguably, the continent hosts countries-many that are least to blame for the fossil-fuel gases that stoke global warming, accounting for less than four percent of global emissions of carbon dioxide.
But, a report notes, the continent also has some countries that are most exposed to climate impacts, such as worsening drought, floods and cyclones. The Pan African financial institution-African Development Bank, analyzing the extent of the problem, has estimated that Africa will need as much as $1.6 trillion between 2020-2030 to redress the climatic effects.
The effects include catastrophic heat waves and wildfires this year that have afflicted many rich countries, a development that has given impetus to the call for action on climate.
The seven-month-old-war between Russia and Ukraine has posed further threats on the growth-heightened by the Covid-19 pandemic-raising fears on the prospects for meeting funding needs.
And the pledged US$55 million funding by four West European countries at the Africa Adaptation Summit in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, last last week and organized by GCA and also attended by leading figures in governments, businesses and the United Nations, has raised hope for Africa to sustain its fight to counter the extreme climatic change effects that have decimated the continent in recent years.
The Africa Report online notes that in the order of the size of their contributions, the donor countries concerned were the UK, allocating $23-million, Norway, assigning $15-million, France, with $10-million, and Denmark, with $7-million funding.
GCA had envisaged that the State funding would allow it to mobilise a total of up to $5-billion to fund climate adaptation projects across the continent.
The summit comes two months ahead of the forthcoming United Nations (UN)’s (COP27) to be hosted by Egypt at the country’s coastal-pleasure resort-Sharm el-Sheikh.
And with Africa seeking to fight the climatic effects, evidenced by the frantic efforts to raise resources for adaptation-the AfDB has extended its gesture of goodwill and launched the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme (AAAP).
The funding, arguably, seeks to mobilise $25-billion in financing to greatly expand climate change adaptation programmes across the continent.
“You have to adapt or die,” asserted African Union Chairperson and Senegalese President Macky Sall is cited as saying during a recent summit. “We do not have the choice. Our time to act is coming to an end. Africa must prioritise adaptation.
President Sall is backed by Ghanaian leader and African Union Chairperson Nana Akufo-Addo. He calls for Africa to invest massively in adaptation and resilience.
As Chairperson of the African Union, I urge Africa’s development partners to fully fund the AAAP and make it an exemplary model of what is possible when we collaborate.”
The Ghanaian President and also Climate Vulnerable (countries) Forum Chair is cited by African News adding: “If we want Africa to thrive, we must adapt to climate change,”
As a mitigation measure, the continent should close the adaptation financing gap and cannot afford to wait but take swift actions to implement the AAAP as the fate of the African continent and the planet depends on the actions to take.
Africa was until recently, regarded as the continent most vulnerable to climate change. Nine of the 10 countries assessed as being most vulnerable to the effects of climate change were in Africa.
Food expenses already consumed 75% of the income of the poorest people across the continent, while more than 20% of Africans were already ‘food insecure’. Africa was already under pressure from multiple economic and health, as well as climate, crises.
“Africa is unstoppable. But Africa is ground zero for global climate breakdown,” Professor Patrick Verkooijen, the GCA CEO is also cited as saying, warning against complacency.
“Nobody benefits if Africa fails to tackle it. Climate fallout in Africa cannot be contained so adaptation action can and must scale at breakneck speed across the continent.
The world has to double down on adaptation at the UN climate summit in Egypt just weeks away. We need an adaptation delivery breakthrough for Africa at COP27. That means adaptation finance visibly flowing in Africa.” He observes.
The 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the UNFCCC will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt from November 6-18-having been shelved from 8-20 November 2021 spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Zambia the current chair of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) , has asked the continent to prepare adequately for the COP27 summit with closer collaboration among the African and all Least Development countries in advancing mutual interests.
Zambia’s Minister of Green Economy and Environment Collins Nzovu notes that the country remains committed to ensuring Africa and the LDC Group work closely and advance their interests at the UNFCCC (COP 27).
The African Group has historically worked with the LDC Group in advancing mutual interests in the negotiation process, noting that Zambia wanted to build on the long-standing tradition of strengthening the collaboration.
Minister Nzovu challenged developed countries to take leadership and remain committed to 45 percent emissions reductions by 2030 and ensure the much sought after-1.5 degrees Celsius goal was kept alive despite the current geopolitical situation that the world faces.//
