African countries are to seek better bargaining power during the forthcoming United Nations climate talks to be held at the end of this year.
This follows what has been described as a disappointing outcome of the 26th Conference of Parties (CoP) of climate change thich took place in Scotland last November.
Agitation for better results that would make Africa much safer from climate-related disasters is spearheaded by the civil society groups based in the continent.
They made clear their position during their recent meeting in Sharm El Sheik in Egypt to review the Glasgow Climate Pact which African leaders have criticized.
The meeting at the Red Sea resort in Egypt was also convened to plot for better results for Africa in the 27th Conference of Parties set for Egypt at the end of this year.
"Africa was and remains disappointed by the outcomes of CoP 26 which was viewed as 'make or break' gathering", said Mithika Mwenda, the executive director of the Nairobi-based Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (Pacja).
He said parties failed to live up to the expectations, especially for the African people during the two week talks in the Scottish capital.
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“Many Africans expected to see consensus in some contentious yet very critical issues such as recognition of Africa as a ‘special needs and circumstances region’", he explained as quoted by a recent dispatch.
A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released in August last year (2021) called for the lowering of greenhouse gas emissions by the industrialized countries and additional climate finance to the poor states.
Recommendations of the report, Mr. Mwenda explained, were "either expunged or watered down".
However, he banked his organization's hopes on the likelihood of Africa hosting another high level UN climate change talks in Egypt later this year.
“Our future as a continent will literally be in our hands at COP 27 and Africa must not lose this opportunity", said Augustine Ndjamnshi, Chair, Political and Technical Committee of Pacja.
He added that it was high time for the African delegates to CoPs to unlock key negotiation items "that have derailed substantive response to the climate crisis and particularly on climate finance especially in reference to loss and damage".
society will capitalize on the CoP that is coming to Africa
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Africa, the second largest continent in the world, continues to suffer adverse impacts of climate change and the trend on the temperature rise continues on an upward trajectory unabated.
According to recent IPCC reports, projections under medium scenarios indicate that extensive areas of Africa will exceed 2°C by the last 2 decades of this century.
The reports further indicated that it is likely that land temperatures over Africa will rise faster than the global land average, particularly in the more arid regions, and that the rate of increase in minimum temperatures will exceed that of maximum temperature.
The Alliance is a coalition of civil societies in Africa calling for
fair and just climate regimes for the African people.
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