KIGALI: Lead Coordinators of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) met Thursday in Sham El Sheikh, Egypt, to strategize and consolidate Africa’s position on the various thematic climate negotiation issues ahead of COP27 scheduled this November.
Key on the discussion table, according to a statement Thursday, is the importance of delivering on the special needs and special circumstances of Africa—a continent which is the least contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions (less than 4%) and yet the most adversely impacted region, as reaffirmed by the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports.
According to the IPCC, Africa is already experiencing severe and widespread impacts of climate change, causing devastation to lives, livelihoods and the continent’s development trajectory.
Commenting on the move, Ephraim Mwepya Shitima, the AGN Chair said: “this is a clear manifestation of climate injustice, which must be corrected”.
“There are high expectations that ‘the African COP’ will deliver substantive progress and implementable climate actions on the priority issues for Africa and other developing countries, including on adaptation, loss and damage and delivering on the pledges on climate finance, with the ultimate aim of correcting the injustice and getting the world on a path to a secure and safe climate future,” said Shitima.
In deliberating on Africa’s special needs and circumstances, the AGN Lead Coordinators’ Strategy Meeting is also spotlighting the continent’s energy poverty, with the latest statistics showing that over 600 million people have no access to electricity and 900 million people with no access to clean cooking.
However, this is against the backdrop of a heightened global campaign for countries to transition to clean and green energy sources. Africa will require support for just energy transition that ensures resources and technologies are made available to enable the continent to achieve climate, energy and development goals.
Other key issues of concern at the meeting include the need for scaled-up financial and technical support to implement Africa’s highly ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
According to the statement, particular attention will also be given to adaptation finance through a call for grant-based financial resources for African countries and the need to expedite operationalization of the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) under the Paris Agreement which will be a game changer for adaptation action and support.
Experts observe that Although Africa has contributed only 3.8% of total global carbon emissions, it has borne the brunt of climate change. Today, African countries are both the most vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis, and the least well-prepared to adapt, it said.
This article has been published with the support from MESHA/IDRC grant for COP27 coverage
