Africans Urged to Demand Climate Change Finance ahead of COP27

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Africans Urged to Demand Climate Change Finance ahead of COP27
Africans Urged to Demand Climate Change Finance ahead of COP27

Africa-Press – Ethiopia. Africans need to voice their demand about climate change finance in the continent ahead of COP27 to be held in early November in Africa, some officials of African institutions said.

South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) Foundation in Ethiopia and KAS Energy Security and Climate Sub saharan Africa jointly organized a two-day high-level international conference in Addis Ababa under a title “Towards an African Adaptation Finance Agenda for COP27.”

The officials told journalists that Africans must demand climate change finance from wealthier nations during the COP27.

Most of the climate change financing in Africa are skewed towards mitigation than adaptation, it was indicated.

African Development Bank East Africa Climate Change and Green Growth Principal Officer, Olufunso Somorin said African countries and stakeholders are collaboratively working to scale up financing for the effects of climate change.

“Many African leaders together with Africa’s stakeholders are coming together to be able to raise the profile of adaptation and climate financing…the global commitments have to be met. We are talking about 100 billion USD at the global commitment but the need is about 1 trillion USD.”

The COP27 that will be held in Egypt will offer an opportunity to voice for the scale up of climate change finance, he added.

SAIIA Governance of Africa’s Resources Program Head, Alex Benkenstein said the conference is organized to discuss the issue of climate change finance ahead of the COP27.

According to him, Africa is most affected by the effects of climate change, and needs more finance, mobilization of resources, adaptation, mitigation and technology transfer to tackle climate change consequences.

“As we move towards the very important global negotiations, it is critical that African stakeholders voice their needs and their demands from these negotiations and that forms the basis for engagement with external partners, with developed countries, around issues such as climate financing but there are a range of other issues like mitigation and technology transfer.”

More action is needed at national and regional levels in Africa to tackle the effects of climate change, the head added.

KSA Foundation Office in Ethiopia/AU Representative, Benno Müchler said the climate change funding gap needs mechanisms and solution.

Although African countries in general are only responsible for 5 percent of the global CO2 emission, Africans are yet most affected by climate change effects and it is necessary to strengthen the voices and needs of Africa.

“What we need right now is to get these funds quicker to projects that are effective and efficient and this needs to be improved,” Benno Müchler.

It is to be recalled that African ministers meeting in Cairo two months ahead of the COP27 climate summit called on Friday for a sharp expansion of climate financing for Africa.

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