Of an estimated amount of more than $400 billion spent on clean energy last year, only $2.6 billion went to African nations.
Yet in Africa, as in all regions, the climate crisis is an economic sinkhole, sucking the momentum out of economic growth.
Speaking at the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, said many African nations are losing up to 5% of GDP as a result of climate impacts.
“But the good news is, climate action is the single greatest economic opportunity of this century.
It can and should be the single greatest opportunity for Africa, to lift up people, communities, and economies, after centuries of exploitation and neglect” said Stiell.
The continent has been warming at a faster rate than the global average, from Algeria to Zambia, climate-driven disasters are getting worse, inflicting the most suffering on those who did least to cause them.
This threatens the future of food production, global prices, inflation and the cost of living.
Another opportunity is that of joint solutions, given the collective climate and economic crises.
“At COP28, we concluded the first-ever stocktake of global climate action.
It showed how much more work is needed.
In response all nations agreed on some ambitious new commitments: To transition away from all fossil fuels quickly, but fairly, to triple renewable energy, to double energy efficiency.”
He said African nations’ vast potential to drive forward climate solutions is being thwarted by an epidemic of underinvestment.
This, when renewable energy investment in Africa, needs to grow at least fivefold by 2030.
Stiell said the upcoming COP29 in Baku, must signal the climate crisis as core business for every government, with finance solutions to match.
Nations must therefore, agree on a new international climate finance goal. And ensure that it is grounded in the needs of developing countries.
Africa needs at least 4 billion US dollars annually to address climate change effects adequately.
“Linking nature-based climate solutions with biodiversity protection and land restoration will drive progress right across the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Your role at COP29 – and your voices in the lead-up, are more important than ever, to help guide our process to the highest-ambition outcomes the whole world needs.”
Picture: African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change