2023-12-27 07:06:06
African negotiators at COP28 say developed countries are just talking, not acting
Isaiah Esipisu, Alliance for Science*
My note: The original text was posted online on December 11, 2023; the COP was still in progress. But many of its elements are of lasting relevance.
Negotiators from African countries present at COP28 are concerned about the slow pace of negotiations, particularly on financing and adaptation, under the leadership of Western countries.
“We note a historic and positive start to this conference where the Loss and Damage Fund was made operational and the first financial commitments worth several million dollars were made in a few minutes, but we are concerned about the lack of progress on various issues important to our group, particularly on financing and adaptation,” said Mr. Collins Nzovu, Zambia’s Minister of Green Economy and Environment, at a press conference of the African Group of Negotiators (GAN).
“We reaffirm that adaptation is a key priority for Africa and an essential element of the implementation of the Paris Agreement,” the minister said on behalf of Ephraim Mwepya Shitima, the chair of the GAN. “Adaptation is a question of survival for us in Africa. »
The statement comes after different groups attending COP28 expressed dissatisfaction with the commitments made by developed nations on adaptation finance during the negotiations, calling them “well short of what is needed “.
Much more money needs to be committed
“Funding pledges to help countries adapt to climate change are barely half of what they should be, and there are concerns that some of these funds are pledges to the new Loss and Damage Fund which are counted twice,” said Ms Ebony Holland, policy lead for nature and climate at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).
“COP28 leaders must commit to significantly more money in grants, not loans, to help vulnerable countries adapt to the effects of climate change,” Holland said in a press release issued during the first week of negotiations.
Last month, the United Nations Environment Program released its report on the adaptation gap, which revealed the scale of the problem: a growing gap between the adaptation needs of vulnerable countries and the funds available.
The report found that the gap is 50% larger than previously thought and that adaptation needs are now ten to eighteen times larger than international public finance flows.
“We agree with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who said: ‘Lives and livelihoods are being lost and destroyed, and it is the most vulnerable who are suffering the most. We are in a situation “We need to act accordingly. And take steps to close the adaptation gap,” said Mr. Nzovu.
The Africa Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA), which represents 37 African networks and organizations and 200 million smallholder farmers in Africa, also raised concerns about the slow pace of negotiations.
Climate action in agriculture and food security
“We recognize the first positive steps taken at COP28, but as we enter the decision-making phase, we express our deep disappointment and concern over the stalled negotiations on Sharm el-Sheikh’s joint work on the implementation of climate action in agriculture and food security,” said Mr. Kirubel Teshome, AFSA.
The four-year Sharm El Sheikh Joint Work (SSJW) on Agriculture and Food Security Implementation was adopted at COP27, taking over from the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture (KJWA), established in 2017 during COP23 held in Bonn, Germany.
The SSJW recognizes the fundamental priority of preserving food security and ending hunger, as well as the particular vulnerabilities of food production systems to the adverse effects of climate change. It highlights the role of farmers, including smallholders and pastoralists, as key agents of change, while recognizing that solutions are context-specific and take into account national circumstances.
An essential component of negotiations
“Despite the critical importance of these issues, negotiations on the SSJW at COP28 are stalemated, continuing the lack of progress noted at the SB58 Subsidiary Body meeting in Bonn in June this year,” Mr Teshome said.
The GAN noted that financing is the most critical component of negotiations for the implementation of the convention and the Paris Agreement. “Africa has suffered and continues to suffer the adverse effects of climate change and has not received the multilateral support required to address the climate challenge,” said Mr. Nzovu, noting that many African countries need access increased levels of new, additional and predictable grants and concessional finance for climate action.
So far, since the promulgation of the Paris Agreement in 2015, developed countries have not achieved the target of mobilizing $100 billion per year by 2020. According to GAN, the target doubling adaptation funding from 2019 levels by 2025 is only a commitment on paper.
“We have now reached the final stage of the exit phase review, and it is important that the outcome [de la COP 28] is practical and all parties can implement it effectively,” Mr. Nzovu said.
_____________
* Isaiah Esipisu is an independent journalist and media consultant. He is the continental coordinator of the Pan-African Media Alliance for Climate Change (PAMACC).
* Source : African negotiators at COP28 climate talks say developed countries is all talk and no action – Alliance for Science
1703755927
#African #negotiators #COP28 #developed #countries #talking #acting