AFRICA FEELS BETRAYED AT GLASGOW CLIMATE TALKS

 

African countries feel betrayed at the just concluded UN climate talks in Glasgow, famous as COP26.

Activists who represented the continent said although Africa was ready to sacrifice use and exploitation of some energy resources to reduce emissions, the developed countries were not.

They said at the end of the two week conference that they were disappointed by the lack of commitment of the rich countries to fulfil pledges of adaptation financing.

"There was also indifference to the issue of loss and damage and the proposal to have Africa treated as a special needs region as far as climate change is concerned", said the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (Pacja).

Augustine Ndjmanshi, the organizations' chair of Political and Technical Committee said even pledges made by the rich countries during the 2009 climate talks in Copenhagen have not been fulfilled.

"The projections are that funds will be provided from 2023 during which the continent will be exposed to greater impacts on water stress, food insecurity and increased degradation of its natural resources", he said.

He added: "The commitment to ensure that the Adaptation Fund for Africa

and other developing countries cope with climate change is not forthcoming (in the next year).”

Africa's contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is currently estimated to be only four percent compared to 29 percent by the United States, the world's largest economy.

Europe, one of the highly industrialized regions in the world,  emits about 40 percent of the gases which are blamed for global warming.

The remainder of GHGs are emitted by the largest economies in Asia, notably China and India and elsewhere in the world.

Dr.Ndjmanshi said the two week dialogue and negotiation process at Glasgow had not prioritized urgent climate action to strengthen Africa’s

resilience. 

“Instead COP26 was the hallmark of a clear Northern agenda to pursue half-

measures that comfort the world’s biggest polluters while oppressing African and other developing nation’s communities, which are among the most burdened by the adverse impacts of climate change,” he observed.

Mwanahamisi Singano, said she was dissatisfied by the way gender matters were discussed at COP26.

"This was yet another Conference of Parties which failed Africa", she pointed out, noting that the conference apparently ignored the urgent needs of

Africa where climate change continues to impact on its economy.

However, the Nairobi-based lobby with a membership of over 1,000 civil society organizations across Africa welcomed plans to halt and eventually reverse deforestation, along with pledges to cut methane emissions.

It said the mitigation actions announced at the end of the talks at the weekend can save millions of Africans from the grave impacts of climate change such as severe droughts, sea level rise and devastating rains.

Africa, it said, was having more difficulties in adapting or coping with climate change than the rest of the world as the heat of climatic changes is already being felt in agriculture, health, infrastructure,and livelihoods.

Only two months ago, a number of  African countries declared a national disaster after a sharp drop in rainfall which led to droughts, especially in the semi-arid  Horn of Africa.

Since 2012, the number of undernourished people in drought-prone parts of Africa has increased by 44 percent, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The African delegates claimed that the Paris-Agreement signed in 2015 during a similar Conference of Parties had not been implemented to the letter as the fossil fuels are far from being phased out.

Africa is still expected to experience a dangerous level of

warming, droughts, and floods. The continent is not only most vulnerable but least capable of protecting itself.

 Currently estimated to be warming 1.5 times faster than the global mean,

while the continent is also experiencing disproportionate exposures to climate risks " which will worsen in a two to three-degrees in the near future.