Last year’s climate summit, the 28th Conference of the Parties for Climate Change (COP28) started with a surprise on the very first day: the operationalisation of the Loss and Damaged Fund, where the COP 28 presidency pioneered a pledge of $100 million.
By the end of the event, the pledges totalled almost $700 million
This amount is paltry compared to what what is needed to combat loss and damage from climate change, the apprehension of shifting funds from adaptation and other disaster risk reduction resources appears not unfounded, given the tiny pledges of less than $200 million for the Adaptation Fund against the measly target of $300 million.
In other areas of finance, we witnessed a short shrift, a really bleak future. Against the Glasgow decision, no clear roadmap was drawn to double adaptation finance by 2025, compared to the 2019 level. In long term finance, a decision was made to draft a post-2025 target ahead of COP 29, to be held in Azerbaijan later this year.
Green Climate Fund was pledged and additional $3.5 billion for its second replenishment, which now totals $12.8 billion, an increase of almost 30% more than the first one. But, past trends shows persistently huge discrepancy between pledges and and actual delivery on the ground.
Another decision taken at the COP 28 Summit which worth mentioning is about tripling renewable energy and doubling energy efficiency by 2030. But the financing for this is not elaborated on, as renewable energy investment was just about $20 billion in 2022, only around 2.5% of its total capital spending, according to the International Energy Agency. This is against a huge subsidy of about $700 billion in 2022 for the fossil fuel industry.
NatureNews knew quite well that an overwhelming share of every inadequate climate finance goes for mitigation, compared to adaptation. Even for the least developed countries, which are ”non – emitters,” where adaptation is of utmost priority, more than half of climate finance goes for mitigation. This is double injustice.
So, we in NatureNews, suggests that Nigeria can initiate a review of international support going for adaptation as against mitigation during the forthcoming COP 29 Summit in Azerbaijan . On the other hand, our nation need to embark on capacity-building which we direly needed in two areas.
Nigeria needs to prepare a cohort of young negotiators, because some of the experienced government and non-government negotiators will retire soon. The other area for capacity development is the writing of science-based fundable projects, for which government may forge partnership with universities.