African leaders demand funds to adapt to climate change

The leaders of two dozen African countries Friday urged wealthier nations to uphold their aid pledges so the continent can tackle climate change impacts for which it shares little blame.

FILE - The carcass of a dead goat lies in the desert in a drought-stricken area near Bandar Beyla in Somalia on March 8, 2017. Africa has contributed relatively little to the planet's greenhouse gas emissions but has suffered some of the heaviest impacts of climate change and the reverberations of human-caused global warming will only get worse, according to a new United Nations report released Feb. 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File) AP - Ben Curtis

They made the call after African leaders on Monday lashed out at industrialised nations for failing to show up at the Global Center for Adaption (GCA) summit in Rotterdam on helping African nations adapt to these changes.

We urge "developed countries to fulfil their pledges in relation to climate and development finance, and deliver on their commitments to double adaptation finance, in particular to Africa," the 24 leaders said in a statement as they wrapped up the second edition of the Egypt-International Cooperation Forum (Egypt-ICF.)

We're losing time in making promises a reality in the lives of people.

Mobilize. Act. Invest. Our people and planet depend on it.#EgyptICF pic.twitter.com/3jN2QoQNbI

— Amina J Mohammed (@AminaJMohammed) September 8, 2022

The three-day forum came two months before Egypt hosts the crucial COP27 climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh in November.

The African continent emits only around three percent of global CO2 emissions, former UN chief Ban Ki-moon noted this week.

And yet African nations are among those most exposed to the impact of climate change, notably worsening droughts and floods.

"disproportionate impact"

The African leaders said the financial aid was needed in view of "the disproportionate impact of climate change and nature loss on the African continent".

Africa not only has a "low carbon footprint", they said, but it also plays a key role in capturing greenhouse gases, including in the Congo Basin, which is home to the world's second-largest tropical rainforest after the Amazon.

A desolate, semi-arid landscape surrounds the Sahel village of Ndiawagne Fall in Kebemer, Senegal, on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. The region is on one end of a project called “Great Green Wall” that was once envisioned as a way for Africa to fight climate change. The idea behind the stalled project was to plant a 5,000-mile line of trees that would span the entire continent and hold back the Sahara Desert. AP - Leo Correa

Funding to help poorer countries curb their emissions and strengthen their resilience will be a key flashpoint at COP27. A longstanding goal for developed countries to spend $100 billion a year from 2020 on helping vulnerable nations adapt to climate change remains unmet.

According to the African Development Bank, the continent will need as much as $1.6 trillion between 2020 and 2030 for its own efforts to limit climate change and to adapt to the adverse impacts that are already apparent.

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(With agencies)