Africa is disappointed that, despite promises in recent years, it is not getting enough funds from the North to mitigate the effects of climate change, which is mainly being caused by developed countries. Far from resolving the grievance, however, it is looking for new international partners, both public and private, to deal with a devastating phenomenon. “Climate change feeds migrations, political instability, conflicts. It’s not theory, it’s something very visible,” assures Mohamed Atani, communications director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP, for its English acronym).
For two days, on September 14th and 15th, African environment ministers held their annual meeting in Dakar (Senegal), among other things with the aim of establishing a unified position for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) to be held in November this year next year in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. There, the disappointment of African countries at the failure to deliver on financial promises made by developed countries to mitigate and adapt to the effects of global warming was again highlighted. In 2009, the north promised to pay out 86 billion euros annually. But Africa is still waiting.
“Climate change fuels migration, instability and conflict in Africa”
Mohamed Atani, Head of Communications, United Nations Environment Programme
“Africa doesn’t get enough money, we already know that. Therefore, new partners and new funding channels need to be found, both in Africa and beyond, that are more innovative and flexible,” says Atani. On the horizon, from China to Turkey, but also banks, foundations, international organizations. At the African Conference of Environment Ministers (AMCEN) in Dakar, which was preceded by meetings of experts and civil society, the idea emerged to engage the continent’s finance ministers in a platform dedicated to finding more resources to meet this challenge.
This summer, as in previous years, torrential rains have hit many African cities. Hundreds of deaths in countries including Niger, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Chad, Sudan and also South Africa in April are evidence of what experts have warned against: the behavior of precipitation is being altered by global temperature increases, and precipitation is becoming increasingly unpredictable and extreme. When this is combined with poorly adapted cities, the results are catastrophic. On Africa’s Atlantic coast, sea levels are swallowing entire communities, and in the Sahel, desert encroachment is causing hunger and malnutrition and fueling migration and conflict. The hurricanes in the Indian Ocean, the famine in Madagascar, the locust plague in the Horn of Africa… Global warming is spreading its tentacles across the continent.
“The effects are there, we see them, it’s not a theory. Heat waves, desertification, deforestation, rising seas. But it’s not just the environment, there’s a fundamental socio-economic aspect. The problem must be viewed holistically and tackled with new approaches. For example, waste management is a major challenge, but at the same time an opportunity to create jobs. That is the spirit we want to promote at the United Nations,” Atani adds. Africa is only responsible for 3% of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change, but it is one of the hardest-hit continents.
During AMCEN, the 54 African environment ministers focused on financing mechanisms for measures that combine both approaches, climate change adaptation and job creation, as well as adapting their demands to the economic earthquake caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and that has left the continent exhausted. Biodiversity loss and pollution were also the focus of debates with the aim of submitting proposals for the UN Conference on Biodiversity (COP15), which will be held in Montreal (Canada) from 5 to 17 December 2022. Africa wants to have its own unified voice in all international forums on the subject.
“The sensitivity is enormous because the impact is enormous and is one of the main causes of phenomena such as migration, political instability or conflicts over resources. The Sahel is a clear example. The consequences are severe, but inaction does not help. Climate change makes no difference between rich and poor, developed countries or not, heat waves are an example, we are all in the same boat. Of course there is historical responsibility, but dialogue and multilateralism are the only way out,” comments the spokesman for the United Nations Environment Program in Africa. “The question is not who caused the problem, but to find solutions. Otherwise we won’t make any progress.”
You can follow PLANETA FUTURO at TwitterFacebook and Instagram and subscribe to our “Newsletter” here.