Bwalya Nondo
25 May 2009
Kigali — ENVIRONMENT and Finance ministers who gathered at the third African ministerial conference on financing for development here have demanded compensation from developed countries for environmental injustices that Africa has suffered.
And delegates to the conference unanimously endorsed Zambia as the host of next year's gathering.
Zambian Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources Minister, Catherine Namugala noted that although Africa was a minor emitter of carbon, and contributed less to global warming, the continent had continued to bear the brunt of the negative effects of the impact.
Ms Namugala noted that, the predicament was a serious threat to Africa's achievement of the millennium development goals (MDGs).
The minister called for development of a pool of strong African negotiators who would articulate the African position for adequate funding of the continent's climate change adaptation and mitigation measures at the forthcoming international climate change conference in Copenhagen.
Zambia's Finance and National Planning Minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane urged African countries to fight marginalisation and take advantage of available financing windows to address climate change challenges.
More than 200 delegates are attending the conference.
Dr Musokotwane called for increased participation in carbon trading which should be used as a tool for fighting poverty on the continent.
He said there was need for Africa to forge a common platform and speak with one voice in financing climate change interventions.
United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) executive director, Achim Steiner warned of animal species being endangered in addition to compromising human health and food insecurity, if climate change in Africa was not addressed.
African Development Bank vice-president Zeinab El Bakri said investment and financial flows needed to address the challenges of climate change on the continent.
She said funding to climate change should not replace conventional Overseas Development Aid (ODA).
And in a communiqué marking the close of the conference, delegates said they were concerned at the inadequacy and complexity of financial instruments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Delegates called for creation of an enabling environment to support Africa 's transition towards a green economy.
They called for the facilitation of the private sector to play a crucial role in the transfer and adoption of clean technologies.
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