Climate Goals Lagging; Africa Calls for Fair Finance

• African leaders demand changes to global climate finance system.
• Africa receives only 12% of the needed climate financing.
• Investments and pledges announced at Africa Climate Summit.

The president of the upcoming COP28 summit has issued a sobering statement, asserting that the world is falling behind in its efforts to achieve climate change goals. Sultan Al Jaber, who will lead the summit in the United Arab Emirates in late November, made this assessment. Meanwhile, African leaders are calling for revisions to what they consider an unjust global climate finance system.

Sultan Al Jaber’s somber evaluation was delivered during the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, just three days ahead of the United Nations’ first “global stocktake” publication. This stocktake will assess nations’ progress in combatting climate change.

Speaking at the summit, Al Jaber, who also serves as the head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, emphasized that the world is not achieving the necessary results within the required timeframe. The Africa Climate Summit, launched on Monday, aims to mobilize funding for Africa’s response to climate change.

Despite Africa suffering some of the most severe consequences of climate change, it only receives approximately 12% of the financial support required to address these challenges, according to research findings.

On Monday, investments totaling hundreds of millions of dollars were announced for sustainable development projects. Additionally, Sultan Al Jaber revealed that the UAE was committing $4.5 billion to develop 15 gigawatts of clean power in Africa by 2030. Currently, Africa possesses around 60 gigawatts of installed renewable energy capacity.

Germany also made a financial commitment of 450 million euros, including 60 million for a green hydrogen initiative in Kenya. Furthermore, the United States pledged $30 million to support climate resilience and food security initiatives.

African leaders appreciate these investments, but they emphasize that meeting the continent’s financial requirements necessitates a transformation of the global climate financing structure, especially given the high debt burdens faced by governments.

Specifically, African nations intend to advocate at COP28 for the expansion of special drawing rights at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This expansion could unlock $500 billion in climate finance, with the potential for leverage up to five times.

Kenyan President William Ruto stressed that special drawing rights should be made accessible to countries that need them the most, which he asserted has not been the case previously.

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