AfDB takes landmark lead on formation of Africa Financial Alliance for Climate Change

Scientific evidence shows that African economies are already reeling from the devastating effects of climate change, further exacerbating their development challenges. Of the 10 countries in the world that are most threatened by climate change, seven are in Africa.

Cognizant of this situation, the African Development Bank led the way to what may turn out to be Africa’s most decisive action to ensure that the continent is not short-changed by climate finance.

At the 53rd Annual Meetings of the Bank, in Busan, Korea, the institution brought stakeholders together for an “open dialogue” to discuss the establishment of the Africa Financial Alliance for Climate Change (AFAC). The initiative was well received by key continental and global stakeholders who agreed with the Bank that Africa needs immediate climate change action.

“The establishment of the African Financial Alliance for Climate Change is a call for us to stand together to mobilize climate finance at scale to meet the needs in Africa,” Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, said Friday.

The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement calls on countries to increase their ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change without threatening food production, and make financial flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.

“As Africa’s premier development financial institution, the African Development Bank is already taking action. The Bank is leading Africa’s transition to climate resilient economies,” he said. “The financing needs to meet the ambitions of the Paris Climate Agreement in Africa are enormous. The implementation of Africa’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) would require investments of at least $2.7 trillion for mitigation and another $488 billion for adaptation by 2030.”

The international community has pledged to mobilize $100 billion in climate finance per annum by 2020 to support adaptation and mitigation projects in developing countries. However, of the US $820 billion in climate finance flows for 2015 and 2016, only US $16 billion was for Africa. This represents a mere 2% of the total.

“This is why the African Development Bank is hosting this open dialogue to initiate the establishment of the African Financial Alliance for Climate Change as a call for us to stand together to mobilize climate finance at scale to meet the needs in Africa,” Adesina added.

He noted that the Bank could not achieve the task alone, pointing out that without achieving the Paris Climate Agreement in Africa, the world will not achieve the required reductions in greenhouse gases to keep global temperatures below the required target.

The Alliance brings together Africa’s financial sector, including Ministers of Finance, Central Banks, insurance and reinsurance companies, sovereign wealth and pension funds, stock exchanges as well as global thought leaders to mobilize climate finance for Africa. It also hopes to come up with concrete proposals to mobilize both domestic and international finance for climate-resilient development in Africa.  “Together, we can create a Decarbonisation Index for Africa,” President Adesina told the meeting.

“The idea of having the Alliance is a fantastic one, because we recognize that the world is also looking to us. While Africa is not the primary cause of the climate change that we see in the word today, we are the continent where the impact is very great, and the world is not as prepared to finance us to take care of this impact. We can’t let it go because it is our people who are suffering,” said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chair of the Africa Risk Capacity (ARC).

“Just for you to know the impact of climate change, of all the drought that occurs in the world, 41% occurs on the African continent. We lose about 485,000 people to indoor pollution, premature deaths that could have been avoided and also the devastating impact caused by flood. I can go on and on.”

The President of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and Chair of the Association of African DFIs, Patrick Dlamini, observed that collaboration was crucial to catalyzing funds and making a difference. “This is possible under the leadership of the African Development Bank. We can then play our role as development finance institutions to being the policy instruments of our various Governments and in alliance with partners.”

The CEO of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Naoko Ishii, pledged the support of her organization for the Alliance and was optimistic that it would motivate the GEF to do much more for Africa.

For his part, Howard Bamsey, CEO of Green Climate Fund, said, “The Alliance is a fundamental step towards meeting the climate change challenge in Africa. There has to be an African solution to the challenge that we face and this initiative presents the opportunity to mobilize that.”

The Africa Financial Alliance for Climate Change will be launched on the margins of the Africa Investment Forum in South Africa, November 7 to 9, 2018 and will bring together heads of financial institutions.

African Development Bank and Global Green Growth Institute partner to fast-track Green Growth in Africa

The African Development Bank and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the African Development Bank Group’s Annual Meetings in Busan, to promote programs, projects, joint studies and research activities to accelerate green growth options for African countries.

The African Development Bank and the Global Green Growth Institute will cooperate in several areas, including conducting a joint study on green growth readiness in Africa and exploring ways to align both organizations’ activities with the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Further, the two organizations will work together to generate synergies in areas, such as the Global Green Growth Institute’s cities programs and the African Development Bank’s initiatives on clean energy, sustainable landscapes, green cities and water and sanitation, with the ultimate goal of strengthening climate resilience in Africa.

The MoU was signed by Amadou Hott, Vice-President, Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, African Development Bank, and Hyoeun Jenny Kim, Deputy Director General and Head of Green Growth Planning and Implementation, Global Green Growth Institute.

“The African Development Bank believes in building strong partnerships to accelerate Africa’s development. This MoU with the Global Green Growth Institute strengthens our cooperation for effective delivery of the High 5s  agenda in a manner that transitions African countries towards green growth. We very much look forward to this collaboration with GGGI,” said Vice-President Amadou Hott.

Deputy Director General Hyoeun Jenny Kim said, “The MoU we sign today will also support the sharing of green growth knowledge and best practices from GGGI’s Member and partner countries. We look forward to conducting joint research activities with African Development Bank in designing and developing green growth projects and programs and sharing knowledge and experience through launching joint publications and participating in and co-organizing events – all of which will help to promote green growth in Africa.”

This partnership reinforces the work of the Africa NDC Hub hosted by the African Development Bank, in accelerating climate action to transition Africa towards a low carbon and climate resilient development pathway.

Africans want the continent to #BreakFree from fossil fuels

On May 25, Africa Day, citizens and communities in almost 20 countries across the African continent gathered, taking to the streets and actively blocking the fossil fuel economy as part of a continent-wide day of action.

By joining the Break Free movement, regular citizens and activists from communities across Africa will call on governments and business to put an end to fossil fuels and move towards a just transition to 100% renewable energy for all.

There are over 30 events registered, in which those hardest hit by fossil fuels projects and the impacts of climate change will make their voices heard by those in power.

The Break Free movement in Africa is co-ordinated by Greenpeace Africa, African Climate Reality Project (ACRP), 350.org and Earthlife Africa Jhb: empowering local communities to rise with acts of courage and come together as a global movement for climate action and justice.

“Funding fossil fuel development will only exacerbate the impacts of climate change. Africa has an opportunity to develop its energy sector using clean, renewable energy,” said Landry Ninteretse, Regional Team leader of 350.org. “It is this development that banks and financial institutions should support, and break free from financing fossil fuels. It's time to deCOALonise Africa!”

 

Hundreds of people across the continent will be organising marches, film screenings, petition handovers, pickets and university debates addressing issues related to fossil fuels and their devastating impacts.

“Declaring War against mother earth is suicidal, because no one gives breath best like she does. Coal fired power stations are a great ticking time bomb, waiting to explode,” said Thabo Sibeko, Programs and Education Officer, Earthlife Africa.

Climate and disaster risk financing get fresh boost from African Development Bank

The Board of Governors of the African Development Bank had held a high-level session on “Climate and Disaster Risk Financing” focusing on the Role of the African Risk Capacity (ARC) and the Africa Disaster Risk Financing Program (ADRiFi).

The session, part of the 53^rd African Development Bank Group Annual Meetings underway in Busan, Korea, provided a platform for African Ministers of Finance, the Economy and Planning, who form its Board of Governors, to extend ongoing discussions between the Bank and regional member countries on the importance of disaster risk financing solutions in building resilience and protecting development gains.

The President of the Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, stated “Africa contributes no more than 2-3% of greenhouse gas emissions, but suffers disproportionately from the negative impacts of climate change. All across Africa, you see today the high frequency of droughts. Africa has been shortchanged by the climate financing architecture. Therefore, we need instruments that will help mitigate climate risks.”

Pledging Bank support for ARC operations, he encouraged others to follow suit. “It must not be only about the African Development Bank,” he said. “We want more stakeholders to join and more partnerships to make sure that the financing mechanism is there.”

“The future of Africa depends on the actions we take today. And we have to have a sense of urgency. If we pump in the alliance and partnerships needed, countries will be able to insure themselves of risks.”

Reiterating the challenges of climate change in Africa, especially the continent’s vulnerability to droughts, floods, tropical cyclones and outbreak and epidemics, ARC Chairperson Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala stated that ARC is about African countries taking charge of their own issues and finding ways to finance their response efforts and broader resilience and development. “We cannot remain a continent that is reliant on the generosity of the broader development community.”

She highlighted the critical role the ADRiFi will play in promoting disaster risk financing on the continent and how countries can access both capacity building and premium financing as part of their long-term resilience building efforts.

The Bank and ARC formalized their partnership In March 2017 to strengthen their technical collaboration towards enhancing the risk management infrastructure and policy across Africa while supporting countries in building resilience against climate shocks.

Following requests from regional member countries for premium financing support, the Bank proposed the ADRiFi program, which will run from 2018-2022, as a comprehensive, sustainable solution for risk transfer within the broader context of disaster risk management.

ADRiFi aligns with the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy by enhancing resilience and response to climate shocks in regional member countries by improving the management of natural disaster risk and adaptation to climate change.

The Bank’s Board of Governors shared a common resolve and readiness to galvanize efforts and resources to help regional member countries improve their capacity to plan, prepare, and respond to extreme weather events and natural disasters so as to safeguard food security for Africa’s vulnerable populations.

The livelihoods of more than 70% of Africans depend on farming. A critical component of the High 5 Agenda of the African Development Bank is “Feed Africa” and hinges on unlocking the potential of agriculture.

Most agricultural activity in Africa is rain-fed, making it susceptible to the vagaries of climate change and natural disasters. ARC deploys innovative mechanisms and customized financial tools to help member countries reduce the risk of loss and damage caused by extreme weather events and natural disasters in a timely, cost-effective, objective and transparent manner.

Since its first financial affiliate was established in 2014, ARC has issued policies to eight governments over four drought risk pools. These countries have paid US $54 million in premiums (95% of which has come directly from national budgets) for a total coverage of approximately US $400 million over the period. ARC has further paid out US $37 million to countries affected by drought whose policies were triggered (Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal). These funds have been used to support over 2 million people and 1 million livestock.

Sharing his excitement for the partnership with the Bank and especially the ADRiFi program, ARC Director General, Mohamed Beavogui, expressed optimism that more African member states will be able to participate in the insurance pool when the Bank makes premium-financing support available to them.

“The ability of Africa to fully provide parametric insurance against extreme weather events and other natural disasters is a critical next step towards achieving food security on the continent and reducing the current over reliance on the international humanitarian financing system for support.”

New guides to de-risk investment in Climate-Smart Agriculture in Africa

Detailed guides on the status of and opportunities for investment in climate-smart agriculture in fourteen African countries have been launched by scientists from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

The profiles provide, for the first time, a scientific framework to guide future CSA financing in Africa and de-risk investment in the sector.

Impacts from climate change on people in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to be some of the greatest compared to other regions by 2100, yet the continent currently only receives 5 per cent of climate funding.

“Climate-smart agriculture” (CSA) practices seek to help farmers adapt to changing weather patterns, while reducing emissions and boosting food security. Yet funding, particularly in Africa, is severely lacking.

“For many large donors, private sector companies and African governments, investing in African agriculture is still extremely risky,” commented Evan Girvetz, senior scientist at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) who leads the CSA profiles project. “Our data and evidence-based reports aim to reduce that risk, by providing a detailed analysis of the most effective approaches to the sustained adoption of climate-smart agriculture from a local to a national level.”

The CSA profile concept was originally designed to guide large-scale agricultural investments, such as the US$250 million World Bank funded Kenya Climate-Smart Agriculture Project, with research focused on Africa beginning in 2016.

Profiles have since been produced for fourteen African countries, which were launched at a session entitled: “Profiling Climate Risk and CSA Opportunities to De-risk Agriculture” at the African Climate-Smart Agriculture Summit in Nairobi.

Countries in focus in the CSA Profiles are: Senegal, Rwanda, Mozambique, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Ethiopia, Côte D’Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Benin, Niger and Mali.

Based on a scientific framework, the profiles provide a snapshot of the key issues, climate impacts, CSA practices, relevant policies, and financing opportunities for scaling up the promotion and sustained adoption of CSA interventions. Policy and investment recommendations are then detailed by researchers, based on an analysis of current drivers and constraints to adoption the identified practices.

“Large-scale investments in climate-smart agriculture need to be based on solid evidence that they will provide productivity and climate benefits,” commented Ademola Braimoh, Coordinator for Climate Smart Agriculture at the World Bank, who spoke at the session. “Until this work by CIAT, that detailed data did not exist. We are now far better equipped to make financing decisions to climate-proof African agriculture in these countries.”

“There is an insatiable appetite from African governments for up-to-date information on how to implement climate-smart agriculture,” commented Dr. Robert Zougmoré, Africa Lead for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). “In Senegal, the CSA profile is being used to inform national climate change plans and programs. Also, the creation of profiles for three states in Nigeria has been requested by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, demonstrating the high demand for this data West Africa-wide.”

These new African CSA profiles build on a set available for countries in Latin America, South Asia and Europe, which have been shaping policy and investment decisions since 2013.

From Paris to Katowice: a slow progressive Talanoa Dialogue for Climate Ambition

If Paris was historic in carving a global climate deal, Katowice will define the political urgency for climate action.

Negotiations at the just ended United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, focused on the Paris Agreement Work Programme, under which countries are designing the guidelines that will move the climate pact from concepts to actions.

The Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group, at the concluding session, expressed concern at the lack of urgency in moving the negotiations forward.

“It is time to look at the bigger picture, see the severe impacts that climate change is having across the world, and rise to the challenge,” said Group Chair, Gebru Jember Endalew.

He expects steady progress be made throughout 2018 on all issues so that poor and vulnerable countries can engage effectively.

“A last-minute rush at COP24 risks leaving developing countries behind,” he said.

The Paris Rulebook

The Rulebook spells guidelines on how to put the Paris Agreement into practice.

There is a call for a fair, robust and transparent Rulebook that inspires confidence among countries to step up and commit to enhanced national climate targets by 2020.

They are essential for determining whether total world emissions are declining fast enough to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. These include boosting adaptation and limiting the global temperature increase to well below 2°C, while pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C.

“I am satisfied that some progress was made here in Bonn. But many voices are underlining the urgency of advancing more rapidly on finalizing the operational guidelines. The package being negotiated is highly technical and complex. We need to put it in place so that the world can monitor progress on climate action,” said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change.

Progress on Agriculture

Recognizing the urgency of addressing interests in the agriculture sector, the Bonn conference made a significant advance on the “Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture” by adopting a roadmap for the next two-and-a-half years.

Farmers are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts such as prolonged droughts and shifting rainfall patterns, and agriculture is an important source of emissions.  

This roadmap responds to the world’s farming community of more than 1 billion people and to the 800 million people who live in food-insecure circumstances, mainly in developing countries. It addresses a range of issues including the socio-economic and food-security dimensions of climate change, assessments of adaptation in agriculture, co-benefits and resilience, and livestock management.

But not with Finance…

Without advances in the talks over the commitment of future financial support from rich countries to developing nations, who are already facing devastating climate impacts, it became difficult for other areas of the negotiations to progress.

LDC Group Chair, Gebru Jember Endalew, stated “Finance is key to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. In the face of climate change, poor and vulnerable countries are forced to address loss and damage and adapt to a changing climate, all while striving to lift their people out of poverty without repeating the mistakes of an economy built on fossil fuels. This is not possible without predictable and sustainable support."

Civil society also expressed some dissatisfaction with the finance dialogue.

“The radio silence on money has sown fears among poor countries that their wealthier counterparts are not serious about honouring their promises. This funding is not just a bargaining chip, it is essential for delivering the national plans that make up the Paris Agreement,” said Mohamed Adow, International Climate Lead, Christian Aid. “For the Paris Agreement to be a success we need the Katowice COP to be a success. And for the Katowice COP to be a success we need assurances that sources of funding will be coming.”

The Talanoa Dialogue

The Fijian Presidency of COP23 launched the Talanoa Dialogue to spur an outcome for enhanced ambition at the end of this year at COP24.

The first global conversation about efforts to combat climate change was witnessed on Sunday, May 6, at the 2018 Bonn Climate Talks.

The dialogue wrote history when countries and non-Party stakeholders including cities, businesses, investors and regions engaged in interactive story-telling for the first time.

The dialogue witnessed some 250 participants sharing more than 700 stories of climate struggle and inspiration, providing fresh ideas and renewed determination to raise ambition.

Seven groups, known as “Talanoas”, took part in the informal Talanoa tradition of sharing stories to find solutions for the common good. Participants discussed three central questions: Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there?

The Dialogue has the goal of taking stock of collective efforts towards progress on the Paris Agreement’s long-term mitigation goal. It will also inform the preparation of parties’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the second round of which are expected in 2020.

“Now is the time for action. Now is the time to commit to making the decisions the world must make. We must complete the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement on time. And we must ensure that the Talanoa Dialogue leads to more ambition in our climate action plans,” said Frank Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji and President of COP23.

Talanoa inspires discussion between countries not as negotiating blocs but as one of people to people. But it is important that this is translated into a clear political process.

The Polish Presidency must take up the baton from the Fiji Presidency and work with all countries towards a political outcome for stronger national targets by 2020.

Political Action in Katowice

All input received to date and up to 29 October 2018 will feed into the Talanoa Dialogue’s second but more political phase at COP24.

To be meaningful, the Talanoa Dialogue “must deliver concrete outcomes that drive an increase in ambition and support to put us on track to achieving the 1.5 degree temperature goal set in Paris, guided by equity and science," said Mr. Endalew.

Talks resume in Bangkok from September 3-8 where negotiators will pick up “informal notes” forwarded by this session. They will attempt to turn these notes and various inputs from countries into the basis for a negotiating text ahead of COP24 in Katowice, Poland.

“The science is clear: we need to get into higher gear to reach Paris goals and we need to have the courage to go beyond traditional politics. Meeting in the middle is no option this time,” said Marcel Beukeboom, Climate Envoy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

A stronger political leadership remains critical to achieve the major milestones envisaged for COP24 in Katowice, Poland.

The UN Climate Change talks are an integral part of a broader, worldwide debate on climate change.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has near universal membership and is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement.

The main aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep a global average temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The UNFCCC is also the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

The ultimate objective of all agreements under the UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, in a time frame which allows ecosystems to adapt naturally and enables sustainable development.

“The time for stories has long since passed,” said Meena Raman of Third World Network. “We live in a world with over 1℃ warming and the devastation is already severe. We cannot allow for that warming to go beyond 1.5℃ and we need a political process to prevent that.”

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

The bigger issue of reducing carbon emissions in climate negotiations

A popular slogan with climate activists in global climate negotiations is “kick polluters out”. But fossil fuel companies are still welcome at the UN climate talks.

The influence of the fossil fuel industry and other polluting industries has become a central topic of concern for governments.

The issue of conflicts of interest and how to best ensure the integrity of the UNFCCC process once again dominated the climate talks in Bonn, Germany as governments launched what is meant to be a formative year for climate policy.

Talks on developing a conflict of interest policy ended with a mandate to talk more next time.

The African Group, Ecuador and Cuba and the Africa group had advocated such a policy which is opposed by the US, EU, Canada, Norway and Australia.

Both sides have agreed to identify opportunities “to further enhance the openness, transparency, inclusiveness of the effective engagement of non-party stakeholders”.

“Once again, the United States and its pro-fossil fuel allies are on the wrong side of history, putting Big Polluters before people and the planet. But today’s results prove that no amount of obstruction from the U.S. and its Big Polluter allies will ultimately prevent this movement from advancing.

And while Global North obstructionism mired these talks in delays, obstruction and censorship, Global South leaders prevailed in securing a clear path forward for the conflict of interest movement, ensuring the issue will be front and center next year,” said Jesse Bragg of Corporate Accountability.

Delivering the Goals of the Paris Agreement

This year 2018 can make it or break it for climate change as the Paris Agreement passes through its first test.

Front-runner countries and civil society representatives have presented a concrete road-map of how they are enhancing climate plans by 2020 in an attempt to push other states to commit to doing the same at the upcoming UN Climate negotiations (COP24) that will be held in Katowice, Poland.

Countries need to send a clear signal in COP24 that they will enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 2020 if the goal to keep warming below 1.5C is to be reached.

“I would say that COP24 in Katowice is probably the most critical meeting since Paris,” said Alden Meyer, Director, Strategy and Policy, Union of Concerned Scientists. “The world will be watching to see if countries are serious about implementing and strengthening the Paris Agreement. We have a mandate to adopt a package of rules to implement the Paris agreement across a range of issues”.

Civil Society Action

A day to end the Bonn talks, major civil society and non-party stakeholder groups demanded that government’s follow-up the Paris Agreement with increased urgent action to prevent average global warming from rising 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Groups highlighted that Parties must reinforce this Paris Agreement goal and commit to enhanced action as a matter of survival for vulnerable countries.

“For the world’s most vulnerable people keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees is not just a ‘nice to have’, it is essential to ensure they can maintain and improve their way of life,” said Mohamed Adow, International Climate Lead at Christian Aid.

The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) also noted that climate change should no longer be isolated to environmental and scientific issue.

It stated that the issues of poverty, justice, equity, economic, humanitarian, food security and political dimensions of climate change must not be overlooked.

“It has stunted the growth of some economies while big economies fear cutting emissions will affect them,” said Olivia Adhiambo, Policy and Advocacy Manager at PACJA.

As the 2020 implementation date of the Paris Agreement draws close, it is expected that big oil and coal interest groups and climate deniers do not succeed in their struggle to undo the progress made in the fight against the climate crisis.

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

Developed countries will deliver on climate finance commitments, UN climate chief asserts

Negotiators and other interest groups at the ongoing UN climate change talks in Bonn, Germany, have been attempting to answer three questions – Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there?

The process of answering these questions has been termed the “Talanoa Dialogue”, a Fijian concept of non-confrontational approach to finding solutions to deliver on the Paris Agreement on climate change.

UN climate chief, Patricia Espinosa, at a media roundtable, described progress at the talks is mixed though “the general atmosphere is very positive”.

She observed “people have come to the negotiations with the willingness to engage in the substantive issues that are before them”.

Climate finance is emerging as one the biggest issues in the negotiation process, in the quest to answer the question of “how do we get there?”

In addition to national emissions reduction targets, developed countries have made a collective promise of $100 billion a year of climate finance by 2020.

But poor and developing countries have their skepticism in the commitment to deliver on the promises to enable their vulnerable economies adapt to the impacts of climate change and redress the damages.

“Countries who have done the most to cause the climate problem must step up to deliver action and finance. They mustn't delude themselves that distant technologies will solve the climate problem in the future, letting them off the hook for climate action now”, said Teresa Anderson, ActionAid International.

The Africa Group of Negotiators has submitted that “we need to go to a world where developed countries stop making promises but live up to their promises”.

According to the group, financial support should include access to clean technology and expertise, and a significant increase in money from public sources and not simply offload finance to the private sector.

“We call on governments to lay the ground for stronger ambition to honour the Paris climate pact,” said Kimbowa Richard of Uganda’s Coalition for Sustainable Development.

Three years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, there are expectations among many countries for clear indications how the $100billion climate finance will be delivered.

Patricia Espinosa acknowledged there are technical issues in negotiating climate finance but “I don’t see any denial of the commitments that have been made”.

She noted “the principle that developing countries need to be supported in order to deliver on their commitments under the Paris Agreement is absolutely unquestioned”.

Investors are using the climate risk assessment as guideline for the decisions they will be taking, says the UNFCCC.

“Now the truth is that even those 100billion will not be enough to financing the big transformation that is required in this agenda,” said the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC.

Patricia therefore believes the willingness for compliance will need to move beyond the UNFCCC process, by exploring the bigger picture in the implementation of the roadmap.

Climate change impacts are already visible in communities and exacerbating poverty in developing countries.

Outcomes of the Bonn Climate Talks would define progress to be made at the COP24 climate summit in Katowice, Poland later this year.

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

VideoReport: Climate finance for development

Farmers and other vulnerable communities in Africa are among the first victims of climate change.

They rely on the weather and the environment in its entirety for their production and livelihoods.

Taking climate action will therefore help meet the goal of feeding people sustainably in a warming world.

However, climate finance has remained a challenge in the climate negotiations.

Kofi Adu Domfeh reports on the process so far in the 2018 Bonn Climate Talks and concerns being raised, especially by Africa.

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Video: Climate Health

Extreme heat leads to heart failure. 

At the 2018 #BonnClimateTalks, the International Federation of Medical Students’ Association (IFMSA) staged a campaign on #ClimateHealth. 

Sehee speaks on the climate impacts on health.




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