According to United Nations statistics, African countries account for only about 3% of global carbon emissions.
Nairobi:
Africa’s first climate summit kicks off on Monday in the Kenyan capital, with participants aiming to forge a common ground ahead of an upcoming global conference and discuss ways to fund the continent’s environmental priorities. ing.
Organizers expect hundreds of millions of dollars in deals to be announced at the three-day summit, during which Africa will be presented as a destination for climate change investment rather than a victim of floods, drought and hunger. said he was aiming to
On Monday, environment ministers, business executives and climate change activists will discuss how to scale up climate finance and carbon markets, invest in climate adaptation and transform food systems.
More than 20 presidents and heads of government are expected to attend the summit from Tuesday. They plan to issue a declaration outlining Africa’s position next month ahead of the UN climate change conference in New York in September and the COP28 UN summit in the United Arab Emirates from late November.
In his opening remarks, Kenya’s Environment Minister Soipan Tuya stressed the urgency of the moment.
“The climate change debate has entered a new era. It is no longer just about tackling environmental and development issues, but it is important to tackle climate change in the context of justice,” Tuya said.
“If we do not develop adequate responses to deal with the climate change crisis, we will perish.”
African leaders are pushing market-based financing instruments, such as carbon credits, to mobilize funds that rich country donors are lagging behind.
Carbon credits allow polluters to offset their emissions by funding activities such as tree planting and renewable energy.
Lawbank, one of the top financiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and global energy trader Bitor on Monday announced a $20 million investment in renewable energy, clean cooking and forest conservation in the Congo.
But many African activists oppose the summit’s approach to climate finance, arguing it advances Western priorities at the expense of the continent.
They argue that carbon credits and other financing instruments are an excuse for rich countries and corporations to continue to pollute, and that African countries should keep the financial commitments they have made to poor countries to donors. But it claims that so far it has only been partially met.
“Africa needs funding from countries that have prospered from our suffering. They owe the debt of climate change,” said Mohammed Adou, energy director at the think tank PowerShift Africa. Told.
African countries account for only about 3% of the world’s carbon emissions, according to United Nations statistics, but are increasingly affected by extreme weather linked to climate change, including the worst drought in decades in the Horn of Africa. exposed.
(Except for the headline, this article is unedited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
