CLIMATE CHANGE FINANCING DEMANDED BY AFRICAN NATIONS AHEAD OF COP27

Sat 10 September 2022:

Twenty African leaders have called on wealthy nations to follow through on their aid commitments so that the continent can combat the effects of climate change, for which it bears little responsibility, Reuters reported.

African ministers issued the call in a communique on Friday, at the end of a three-day forum in Cairo, Egypt’s capital, and two months before Egypt hosts the crucial COP27 climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh in November.

We urge “developed countries to fulfil their pledges in relation to climate and development finance, and deliver on their commitments to double adaptation finance, in particular to Africa,” the 24 leaders said in a closing statement.

The African continent emits only some three percent of global CO2 emissions, former UN chief Ban Ki-moon noted this week.

And yet African nations are among those most exposed to the effects of climate change, notably worsening droughts and floods.

The African leaders said the financial aid was needed in view of “the disproportionate impact of climate change and nature loss on the African continent”.

Africa not only has a “low carbon footprint”, they said, but it also plays a key role in capturing greenhouse gases, including in the Congo Basin, which is home to the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest after the Amazon.

According to Kevin Chika Urama, chief economist at the African Development Bank, Africa has a $108 billion annual financing gap when it comes to climate change.

“Climate finance structure today is actually biased against climate-vulnerable countries. The more vulnerable you are the less climate finance you receive,” he said.

The African Development Bank estimates that between 2020 and 2030, the continent will require up to $1.6 trillion for internal efforts to slow down climate change and prepare for its negative effects.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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