Africa let down as COP27 meeting comes to a close

Arusha. For the poor countries, it has been yet another disappointment.

For others, there was still a room for a credible agreement to tame the global climate crisis.

The two scenarios are the hallmarks of the 27th UN Climate Conference or COP 27 which ended in Egypt yesterday (Friday).

The two- week gathering at the Red Sea resort was to provide a sort of safety valve for the worsening climate calamities ravaging the world.

But as the high profile event folded, there was every sign of dashed hopes to the chagrin of the developing countries.

Activists say Africa is the most affected given the severe drought which has added misery to millions of food insecure communities.

“We came with high hopes. But unfortunately, the end of COP 27 is an anti-climax,” said one of them, Mithika Mwenda.

The executive director of the Nairobi-based Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (Pacja) believed the meeting would materialize with concrete outcomes.

But as he and scores of other activistists from Africa and beyond prepared to exit Sharma el Sheikh, he felt betrayed.

He is particularly pained by millions of people facing starvation in eastern and Horn of Africa “because of climate-related droughts”.

Dr Mwenda does not believe repeated promises made by the developing countries, especially financing, to tame the crisis would ever materialise too soon.

“This will continue to delay because decisions on loss and damage have been delayed yet again to 2024”, he said on Thursday in a statement to The Citizen.

Pacja is one of dozens of civil society organizations (CSOs) from Africa that was present in Egypt to drum up support for climate justice to the suffering Africans.

The Alliance’ view is that this year’s UN Climate Conference ended with disappointment for the poor countries due to, among others, reluctance by the rich countries to remit the needed finances.

Augustine Njamnshi,another official from the organization, likened this year’s dashed hopes to COP 26 held last year at Glasgow in the UK.

“We (Africans) are leaving COP 27 less assured of the goodwill of the global leaders, especially those in highly polluting industrialised countries,” he said.

He added that while in Egypt they expected to see delegates from the developed countries “make bold decisions reflecting the scale and urgency of the climate crisis”.

Mr Njamnshi noted that as was the case in Glasgow last year COP27 has dashed the hopes of the African people “potentially raising their plight”.

Failure to admit Africa’s special needs contributed to the slow progress, delays “and, in some cases, the lowering of ambition on issues pertinent to Africa”.

In addition, the deferral of a decision on financing loss and damage to 2024 “with no guarantees of an outcome” has downgraded the COP in the eyes of the Africans.

Lack of a clear trajectory for phasing out fossil fuels has seen some countries continue using high polluting fossil fuels.

The CSOs, nevertheless, demanded big polluters to honour their engagement to deliver the resources needed to address the climate crisis in Africa.

Florence Kasule, a climate activist from Uganda said, African women feel disappointed by the process and progress at this COP.

“The COP was tagged as an implementation COP with its promise on key African issues and had women excited since they are the major implementers of climate action at the grassroots,” she said.

Women feel disappointed by the lack of action on adaptation, loss, and damage “which has meant little action on agriculture upon which the economies of African countries rely”.

As COP27 ended yesterday in the Egyptian resort in apparent deadlock, the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres warned against blame game.

He admitted that despite “a breakdown in trust”, the world would strike “a credible agreement” on financial support for developing countries.

“This is no time for finger pointing. The blame game is a recipe for mutually assured destruction,” he said.

In recent years, developing countries are demanding for the establishment of a fund to help poor nations to deal with the consequences of climate change.

The developing countries, according to climate change data, emitted a fraction of global greenhouse gases (GGHG) compared to the industrialized north.

It was the Group of 77+ developing countries at the UN, alongside China, that proposed the establishment of a ‘global loss and damage’ fund.

A draft proposal on phasing out fossil fuels presented at the COP27 also encourages a “phase-out” of the use of coal but avoided mentioning oil and gas.

But it is the severe drought in the Horn of Africa that has caught the attention of leaders and experts at the conference.

The policy makers and scientific experts warned that if nothing was done, Africa’s economic growth will be stunted by climate shocks.

This will, in turn, create a poverty trap for millions of citizens who will be on the widest section of the highway to what one expert described as “climate hell.”

During the negotiations, African countries have been asking for at least $1.3 trillion to cover the damage caused by the climate crisis.

According to a UN Adaptation Gap report published on Nov.1, international adaptation finance flows to developing countries are five to ten times below estimated needs.

Estimated annual adaptation needs are $160-340 billion by 2030 and $315-565 billion by 2050.

If African countries don’t change their current climate policies to align with the Paris Agreement, and continue suffering climate funding shortfalls from the west, they could lose 64 percent of their GDP due to climate change devastation according to a report released by UK relief agency Christian Aid on Nov. 9.