Africa, despite contributing only 4% of global emissions, remains the continent most severely affected by climate threats.
Recent findings have highlighted limited usage of carbon pricing mechanisms in Africa.
In response to this, a critical meeting took place on Friday, ahead of COP28 Dubai, led by Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President-Designate, during his visit to Ethiopia.
The meeting centered around discussions at the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) and underscored the urgent need to bolster climate finance for African nations to transition towards a zero-carbon, climate-resilient future.
Al Jaber presented a four-point Action Plan for COP28, emphasizing the acceleration of the energy transition, addressing international climate finance, prioritizing people’s lives and livelihoods, and ensuring full inclusivity.
AMCEN serves as a pivotal forum for African Union policymaking on climate change, offering political guidance and coordinating unified African stances for regional and global summits, including COP28.
Al Jaber’s participation in the AMCEN summit held significant importance, as it aimed to mobilize African leaders ahead of COP28 and lay the groundwork for robust outcomes on finance, adaptation, and loss and damage.
Al Jaber commenced by highlighting the pressing need to align global efforts with the goals of the Paris Agreement and to maintain the ambition of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“With just over 100 days before the world gathers in Dubai for COP28, both the science and common sense are telling us that our collective response to climate change is nowhere near good enough,” Al Jaber emphasized.
Al Jaber acknowledged Africa as one of the regions hardest hit by climate-related extreme weather events, spanning from the Horn of Africa to Lake Chad and beyond. He underscored the prolonged impacts of extreme climate conditions on the continent.
In the Horn of Africa, for instance, rains have eluded the region for over four seasons, resulting in severe hunger affecting 23 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. Lake Chad, once a vital water source for millions in Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, has dramatically shrunk.
Meanwhile, recurring floods have damaged crops and spread vector-borne diseases in Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar, Zambia, and Rwanda.
Al Jaber commended African governments for their climate initiatives, highlighting Ethiopia’s progress in renewable energy. He noted that nearly 100% of the country’s energy is sourced from renewable hydropower.
However, he acknowledged the “chronic lack of available, accessible, and affordable climate finance” as a major impediment to further climate action. Al Jaber stressed that this challenge must be addressed promptly.
Currently, Africa, which contributes less than 5% of global emissions, receives less than 30 billion dollars annually, although nearly 250 billion dollars per year is required to meet the continent’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) commitments through 2030. Private finance inflows to Africa also lag significantly behind other regions.
Al Jaber announced that the COP28 Presidency, in collaboration with the UK Government, will co-host a Climate and Development Ministerial meeting focused on delivering adaptation finance for climate-vulnerable countries. Malawi and Vanuatu will co-chair the meeting.
Discussing the COP28 Action Agenda, Al Jaber highlighted the plan’s formulation based on extensive engagement and feedback, particularly from African stakeholders.
He emphasized the need for the international community to fulfill historic pledges, including the commitment of developed nations to provide $100 billion annually in climate financing for developing countries, doubling adaptation finance by 2050, and replenishing the Green Climate Fund.
He also called for the operationalization of the Loss and Damage fund and early commitment of pledges.
Al Jaber reiterated the necessity to modernize the global financial architecture and adapt it to current needs.
He stressed the importance of expanding concessional funds, creating innovative mechanisms to manage currency risk, and universally applying climate-resilient debt clauses.
Additionally, Al Jaber highlighted the substantial disparity between mitigation and adaptation finance. For every nine dollars allocated to mitigation efforts, only one dollar is directed towards adaptation.
The COP28 Presidency’s Action Agenda prioritizes placing nature, people, and health at the core of the climate agenda and strengthening the link between climate action and socio-economic development.
Al Jaber emphasized the need to transform food systems, promote responsible land use, and combat food insecurity through agri-tech and sustainable farming methods.
During the summit, Al Jaber held bilateral meetings with several African leaders, including Alioune Ndoye, Minister of Environment, Development, and Ecological Transition for Senegal; Barbra Creecy, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and Environmental Affairs for South Africa; Roselinda Soipan Tuya, Minister of Environment Climate Change, and Forestry for Kenya; and Collins Nzovu, Minister of Green Economy and Environment for Zambia.
Al Jaber also engaged with youth representatives and delegates from the International Youth Climate Programme, discussing priorities for COP28, including adaptation, climate finance, and addressing loss and damage.
