As extreme weather conditions continue to wreak havoc and put pressure on the ecosystem, Africa is asking for more financial support to easily adapt to threats posed by the changing climate.
African Ministers made the request at a briefing at the ongoing 25th Conferences of Parties (COP25) taking place in Madrid, Spain, to demand more climate adaptation support and benefit from the carbon market.
Barbara Creecy, president, Africa Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), says the Madrid conference has come at a pivotal time when science is sending a clear message that the world faces a climate emergency that requires every individual to act with a renewed sense of urgency.
“The market must benefit Africa and help finance our adaptation efforts,” Creecy says.
“Africa also requires the Madrid conference to recognise the special needs and circumstances of African countries and to advance work towards achieving the Paris Agreement’s global goal on adaptation, review the work f Warsaw Mechanism on Loss and Damage and the Gender Action Plan,” she states further.
Creecy, who is also leading the South African delegation to the conference, says the impact of climate change is real on the continent and it is impacting mostly the poor and vulnerable groups in the society.
She notes that over the years, every region in the continent has experienced wild spread impact of climate change, and therefore requires a commitment from the international community to address the issues.
She calls for a clean set of goals with timelines and targets for responding to climate change adaptation issues on the continent with regards to Article 6.
She also requests for a fair share of profits from article 6.2, noting, “We need adequate finance and technological transfer. We believe that ambition for action must be matched with ambition for response.”
Similarly, Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, Nigeria’s minister of the environment, stated that sub-Saharan Africa has not got enough finance for adaptation measures, adding that it is imperative that the continent get enough from the developed countries who are major polluters of the ecosystem.
“We have not gotten enough finance for adaptation and we need to get enough. We are the one really getting the short end of the stick,” Abubakar notes.
“A number of financial pledges that were signed or undertaking have not come through yet so far and we are calling on the developed countries who have been majorly the polluters to come through and make their promises come through,” he says.
At the conference, the African Development Bank will highlight the Desert to Power project and present Africa’s climate finance issues.
“2020 is a critical year in securing adequate resources for African countries to meet their Paris Agreement commitments, clarity and transparency on global climate finance access is essential to deliver climate action faster and at scale,” said Anthony Nyong, director -climate change and green growth department at the African Development Bank in a statement.
