As pressure mounts for urgent climate action on the sidelines of ongoing UN climate talks in in Belém, Brazil, African non-state actors are alarmed at little progress on the means of implementation of the discussion around the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) that was established by the Paris Agreement and pressure to force through half-baked indicators.
Knowing that, the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) observes that without means of implementation, indicators are useless, we call on African negotiators to resist anything short of a decision that reflects the scale and urgency of adaptation in Africa.
The statement issue by PACJA recalls that Africans came to Belem in Brazil with one hope – to secure the means for implementation of adaptation programs, precisely climate finance for implementation of the Global Goal on Adaptation. Unfortunately, climate activists note that in the current state, securing the much-needed climate finance for adaptation is not only a distant away, but a mirage.
Philip Kilonzo, Head of Policy, Advocacy and Communication at PACJA was quoted by the statement as saying that indicators such as “proportion of government budget allocated to climate adaptation and resilience” and “annual adaptation finance expenditure” effectively transfer the burden of financing adaptation to developing countries.
“We are disturbed by a number of indicators that are hellbent on rewriting the Paris Agreement and shifting the responsibility of financing the implementation of the convention to African countries, which are already debt-stricken,” he said.
At the onset, African non state actors insist that financing adaptation cannot be optional, arguing it is not charity, and therefore, it is mere rhetoric to discuss indicators of GGA, without the requisite means of implementation.
For UNFCCC COP30, the statement points out that the horse has to lead the cart – in this case, climate finance.
As the negotiations enter the second and final week, Kilonzo stressed that there are no indicators on finance yet on the table. “The indicator list on means of implementation is yet to be finalized,” he said.
Whereas the call for ambitious GGA has been normalized, the statement asserts that there cannot be ambition on action without corresponding ambitious support. We cannot strive to measure the results of an action that is not funded.
According to Kilonzo, the grandstanding on climate finance, which is an essential ingredient in the implementation of the adaptation agenda, cannot go unchallenged.
Parties at COP30 should pay more attention to the amount of international public finance provided by developed countries to developing countries to implement the adaptation goals including its targets, the statement said.
In addition, PACJA takes note of other pertinent issues that should be at the focus of expedited closure:
1. The Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) framework must include strong and measurable indicators on the Means of Implementation (MoI), as determining factors for accountability and alignment with Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement. These indicators should comprehensively assess both action and support provided to developing countries, measuring access to, quality of, and the scale of adaptation finance in line with the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities.
2. Mainstream the global reform agenda into adaptation, ensuring appropriate reforms in finance, debt, taxation and trade to afford vulnerable states and their citizens the fiscal space necessary to implement adaptation efforts.
3. Defer the adoption of the GGA indicators for further in-depth discussions, refinement, and utilise the opportunity provided by COP30 to take note of the work and progress that has gone into the development of these indicators.
4. A deeper introspection of the policy implications of the GGA indicators is important, ensuring that there are no substantial policy shift expectations for Africa We insist that COP must maintain its fidelity to parties’ commitments. It’s a public discourse, not a private one. The more UNFCCC COPs begin to focus on private provision of climate finance, they lose focus. We urge parties at COP30 to pay more attention to the amount of international public finance provided by developed countries to developing countries to implement the GGA, including its targets.
The COP Presidency has already stated they do not expect the COP to extend past the final day.
