Browsing: COP27

For Africa, energy security should come first due to the fact that the continent is the least polluter but it bears a disproportionate burden wrought on by climate change impacts. From 1850-2020, according to analysts, Africa’s global emissions contribution have remained below 3 per cent. However, the continent lost about 5– 15 per cent of GDP per capita growth annually from 1986 – 2015. 

With the aggressive shift to clean energy, Africa risks even worse human and economic crises due to the multipronged dangers of climate change and the possible displacements caused by mining activities. 

Already, climate change-related catastrophes have triggered internal displacement of 2.6 million people going by 2021 estimates. Violence and displacement are some outcomes of climate-related disasters which leaves millions facing acute food shortages and increasing vulnerability. If mining in the DR Congo, and Africa at large, continues as it has for decades, then the displacements, hunger and violence ca only exacerbate. 

What globalists call clean energy is oblivious to what the cost is to Africa which is the source of all the materials needed for this clean energy shift. 

COP27 outcomes were far and few for Africa, yet the UN announced an Executive Action Plan for the Early Warning for All initiative, which calls for initial new targeted investments of US$3.1 billion between 2023 and 2027, which is equivalent to a cost of just 50 cents per person per year.  

This warning system comes to address crucial issues of extreme weather conditions such as disaster risk knowledge, observations and forecasting, preparedness and response, and communication of early warnings.

A couple of the notable outcomes for Africa included the continent’s rainforest giant, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) collaboration with Brazil and Indonesia, to launch a partnership to cooperate on forest preservation after a decade of on-off talks on a trilateral alliance.

Tanzania is now executing several energy projects, including the East African Crude Pipe Line Project (EACOP), which brought several international attention fighting its realization.

The widely followed meeting is occurring in the continent for the fifth time and attracting thousands of participants engaging in serious conversations that might lead to the realization of climate targets.

The 27th meeting of parties calls for moving from negotiations (which occurred in COP26) and “planning for implementation” for all these promises and pledges made (United Nations -UN).

As Samia presents the ambitious deal on behalf of a dozen southern African nations – the pressure lies upon the developed economies to jump in and support the common cause.

Speaking on the first day of COP27 in Egypt, Dr. Adesina said the funding would strengthen collective efforts to build climate resilience for African countries which are suffering from increasing frequencies of droughts, floods and cyclones that are devastating economies in Africa.

The Glasgow Climate Pact included a commitment from donors to double adaptation finance in 2025 from 2019 levels. Earlier, Sunak announced that the UK will surpass that target and triple adaptation funding from £500 million in 2019 to £1.5 billion in 2025. The funding package provided to AfDB will be part of this commitment.

The Netherlands has also announced that it will contribute to the CAW alongside the UK funding. The Foreign Secretary has called on other countries to contribute over the coming months.

Sunak also confirmed during the COP27 in Egypt that the UK is delivering the target of spending £11.6 billion on International Climate Finance (ICF) alongside the new and expanded solar and geothermal power plants in Kenya, Nairobi’s ground-breaking Railway City and a major public-private partnership on the Grand Falls Dam hydropower project – including a US$3 billion investment led by UK firm GBM Engineering.

The goal of JETP is to help South Africa decarbonise and switch to renewable energy for its power needs as aligned in the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution emissions goals.

Through the program, South Africa will mobilise an initial commitment of $8.5 billion for the first phase of financing, which has now been secured and whose distribution plan will be announced next month in Egypt at the COP27.

“The Partnership is expected to prevent up to 1-1.5 gigatonnes of emissions over the next 20 years and support South Africa to move away from coal and to accelerate its transition to a low emission, climate resilient economy,”  reports the European Commission.

The continent comes in last in terms of funding and green development mechanisms in the global carbon market, which increased by 164% to a record $851 billion last year.

The largest market for trading carbon credits is in Africa, but what are the responsibilities of the sellers and buyers? Munyazikwiye questioned.

According to Mohamed Adow, the founder of the climate think tank Power Shift Africa, “Rich countries do not want to decarbonize their economies. It’s a sky trap. Rather than cutting emissions, they pay poor countries to run projects that lower emissions and take credit for that. Africa doesn’t have emissions to cut, but emissions to avoid.”

Adow urged all African leaders to take the helm of climate talks in their nations because “you need to choose the appropriate climate path if you’re the least developed and confront the highest climate vulnerabilities.”

The annual meeting for the African Development Bank Group will be held in Accra, Ghana, from May 23-27, 2022 The…