Seeking climate deal from Kyoto to Paris – an African Perspective

Climate change has massive implications for development in Africa, a continent that contributes the least greenhouse gasses but stands to lose the most with climate change because of its vulnerability and limited adaptation capacity.

The 5^th Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-V) in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe had the theme: “Africa, Climate Change and Sustainable development: What is at stake at Paris and beyond?”

Presentations and discussions at the conference were shaped in ways that concrete proposals could be elicited to strengthen Africa’s contributions at COP 21 which opens in Paris, France at the end of November.

In Paris, a new universal climate governance regime is expected to be adopted, which will come into effect in 2020.

Seth Osafo, a member of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) and former Legal Advisor to the UNFCCC spoke at the CCDA-V on the subject “Kyoto to Paris – an African Perspective”.

In an interview with Kofi Adu Domfeh, he begins by touching on the African voice at COP21 and the political commitment of African governments in the articulation and implementation of INDCs.

Listen to interview:

https://soundcloud.com/kofi-adu-domfeh-1/audio-seeking-climate-deal-from-kyoto-to-paris-an-african-perspective

Africa: a climate vulnerable continent in search for negotiation partners

Africa is expected to go into the UN climate talks in Paris this December with one voice and one position, to demand climate justice for the people on the continent.

With the impacts of extreme weather conditions dawning on people and livelihoods, local farmers and communities will be looking out for a way out of their climate vulnerabilities.

Africa is therefore emphasizing climate adaptation and finance to effectively deal with the effects of climate change.

“For us in Africa, adaptation is the priority; climate change is already affecting our people, so if we have any emphasis, then it has to be on adaptation,” said Seth Osafo of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN).

But mitigation is also being forced on developing countries, as evident in African countries’ Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to the UNFCCC.

“It’s been pushed on us but we have to willingly say that we are also happy to embrace mitigation; but mitigation for prosperity, mitigation for development,” said Fatima Denton of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), addressing the media at the close of the 5^th conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-V).

Africa has been regarded as the battle ground for competing global interest in the climate negotiations leading to the 21^st Conference of parties (COP21).

The European Union, for instance, seems to converge with the African Group in the areas of adaptation and finance but not on climate mitigation.

It has been argued that Green House Gas emissions of some developing countries have dramatically increased over the last 10 years at such point that they are now among the biggest emitters in absolute terms, while the already high emissions of the industrialized countries have generally remained the same.

At the 4^th EU-Africa Summit in Brussels last year, climate change was among the main challenges discussed. One of the outcomes was a Declaration in which the European Union and the African Union reiterated their willingness to work together to fight climate change and to ensure that an effective agreement will be reached in 2015.

“We believe that by discussing on the needs, challenges and priorities for Africa and by exchanging on our respective positions, we can be part of the process towards a satisfactory agreement in Paris,” said Cristina Vicente Ruiz, EU Delegation to the AU when she addressed CCDA-V. “The EU is looking forward to continue working closely with the African partners on Climate Change in the framework of our Joint Strategy to define, defend and implement our common interests”.

The top priority for the EU going to the COP21 is also to secure a legally binding, ambitious and fair new agreement that will keep us on track below the 2°C objective.

According to Mr. Osafo, getting a fair deal will require that African ministers going into the negotiations “be strong in putting forward the position of Africa”.

Africa is already looking up to China as a partner to reckon with to become climate resilient.

“We can identify areas where Africa desperately needs Chinese intelligence, technology and investment to advance in climate adaptation and mitigation,” observed Dr. Fatima Denton. “We can actually go on a partnership, building relationships where we can say Chinese can help support Africa’s renewable energy sector; Chinese can help in terms of building climate resilient infrastructure; Chinese scientists can help Africa in terms of moving smallholder farming into commercial agriculture”.

China-Africa relations have often been analyzed in the light of a zero-sum game.

But Dr. Denton says the climate partnership should not be based on a new kind of imperialism but a win-win partnership “whereby both China and Africa stand to benefit”.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

Africa needs multilateral climate funds but domestic resource mobilization is critical

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has called for a more climate resilient investments in Africa because the current global climate financing architecture is not providing the finance needed by the continent.

“Africa is shortchanged by climate change,” said Bank representative, Mary Manneko Monyau. “Africa is shortchanged by the lack of sufficient climate financing. Much more needs to be done to increase Africa’s access to climate finance”.

She was addressing the fifth conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-V), an annual event convened by the ClimDev-Africa program to deliberate on climate change and economic development in the continent.

Ms. Monyau has noted that “Climate change is no longer a domain for scientists and climate experts” due to the evidence of impacts on economic development and livelihoods, especially agriculture and ecosystems.

The Bank is therefore committed to enhancing Africa’s access to multilateral climate funds, but also to facilitate the mobilization of domestic resources from private and public sources. 

Mr. Seth Osafo, Ghanaian climate change expert and member of the African Group of Negotiators, has emphasized the need for countries on the continent to commit local resources to implement climate activities.

He cites the experience of vulnerable Bangladesh which managed to mobilize $200million from its local resource to address adaptation and other impacts of climate change – the country later leveraged an additional $400million from the international community.

“If we are to move on as Africa and be able to address it aside from incorporating climate change issues into our development plans, we need also to put resources – our own resources – into addressing the problem before we can also leverage additional funds from other countries,” said Mr. Osafo.

The African Development Bank has spent nearly US$7 billion towards climate finance in Africa between 2011 and 2014 – Energy and Agriculture are the Bank’s two major areas of focus.

President of the Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, recently announced that the Bank will step up climate financing by 40 percent to US$ 5 billion per year by 2020.

These investments will be delivered within the framework of five priority areas that build on the Banks Strategy for 2013-2022 – including Feeding Africa, Lighting up Africa, Integrating Africa, Improving the Livelihoods in Africa and engaging more with the Private Sector.

The Bank has worked closely with the African Group of Negotiators, and fully supports the African Common Position under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Key elements of Paris agreement include global commitments that are ambitious enough to keep temperatures below 2 degrees centigrade and availing finance and mechanisms to enable Africa adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The Bank has also significantly stepped up its support for African countries to build resilience to the impacts of climate change, but also to seize the opportunity to drive low-carbon, climate-resilient growth.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh | Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Keep your eyes on climate mitigation ambition – Africa charged

Inadequate climate mitigation ambition will have untold consequences, especially to Africa’s peoples, as the world heads to Paris in December for a climate deal agreement.

According to Dr. Fatima Denton, Special Initiatives Division, UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), increasing global warming will raise the costs of both adaptation and mitigation due to Africa’s constrained adaptive capacity.

“Avoiding dangerous atmospheric interference requires a temperature goal that is commensurate with current levels of emissions; but it also means that we have to go beyond business-as-usual emissions,” she said.

She was speaking on “Africa, Climate Change and Sustainable Development: What Is At Stake At Paris and Beyond?” as theme for the 5^th Climate Change and Development Conference in Africa (CCDA-V), holding in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, 28-30 October, 2015.

The objective is to support the African preparatory process towards global negotiations of the 21^st Conference of Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Convention Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The immediate effects of climate change in Africa are being experienced primarily in terms of human security as a result of threats to food and water supplies.

“Fighting poverty and achieving sustainable development remains our chief thrust and focus,” said Vice President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa.

He says COP21 presents a unique chance for Africa to assert itself in the global climate governance and influence the outcomes of Paris towards aligning with the continent’s long term sustainable development agenda.

The ultimate objective of the UNFCCC, according to Article 2, is the “stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Such a level should be achieved within a time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.”

Dr. Denton has therefore emphasized that it will not be in the interest of Africa to relegate Article 2 to the background in the quest for food security and sustainable development.

“We must take to Paris a new resolve of using our numbers, our collective voice, our agency and our strength in demanding a fair, just and binding treaty abetted by a means of implementation that will align our commitments to our development priorities, including those Intended Nationally Determined Contributions that will support our ambitions towards energy efficiency and agricultural transformation and demand financial commitments,” she stated.

A solutions stock taking has been initiated as part of the CCDA-V.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh / in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe