Libreville — Africa must seize the opportunity of the UN climate conference COP27 to tackle climate injustice and press ahead with green energy solutions, political leaders gathered in Gabon have urged.
Africa is being forced to pay for the wrongdoings of those countries whose carbon emissions are fuelling climate change and curtailing the continent's sustainable growth, the high-level meeting at Africa Climate Week (ACW2022) heard.
The meeting last week (2 September) highlighted how the continent is bearing the brunt of the most devastating impacts of climate change, despite being responsible for less than four per cent of global carbon emissions.
The conference was part of the regional climate weeks 2022 series leading to, COP27, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November.
Egyptian foreign affairs minister Sameh Shoukry said: "Africa is obliged, with its already limited financial means and scant level of support, to spend around two to three per cent of its GDP per annum to adapt to these impacts. [This is] a disproportionate responsibility that cannot be described as anything other than 'climate injustice.'"
Shoukry, the COP27 president-designate, added: "African governments and all other African voices from civil society, youth, women groups ... and the thriving African private sector should all continue to call for climate justice based on equity and the availability of means of implementation."
According to Shoukry, ACW2022 has reinforced the need for urgent actions including adopting ambitious mitigation measures to ensure that the goal of keeping global average temperature rise at 1.5 degrees Celsius can be attained.
"The geopolitical realities and energy crisis confronting the world have opened the door for backtracking on climate commitments, and we must do everything to ensure this does not happen," he explained. "COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh will strive to continue the vital dialogue needed to move from ambition to action."
Ovais Sarmad, UN climate change deputy executive secretary, said: "Science tells us if we continue business as usual, the global average temperature will rise on average more than three degrees Celsius by the end of the century."
Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said that Africa was strategically selected to host COP27.
"Africa is at the forefront of the climate crisis but it is also a place of immense potential for action," Andersen explained. "The COP in Egypt represents a unique opportunity to accelerate the implementation of effective climate solutions with renewables and increased efficiency. We can reduce emissions and tackle energy poverty and air pollution."
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Andersen said that using nature-based solutions could help restore ecosystems and boost resilience against issues such as zoonotic diseases, floods, and heatwaves.
Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba, called on Africa to take climate change seriously by leading in the search to find answers as rising sea levels are threatening megacities in Africa such as Cape Town, Dakar, Lagos and Libreville.
Adapting to climate change can benefit African economies, the meeting heard.
"In Africa, we should be reminded that every dollar spent on adaptation generates two to ten dollars of economic benefits," explained Mahmoud Mohieldin, the COP27 high-level climate champion.
Abdoulaye Seck, the World Bank's country director for Gabon, urged African countries to agree on key priorities to tackle the climate crisis.
"This will require ramping up of climate finance and at-scale investments to protect and enhance natural capital and build the resilience of vulnerable people and communities against the impacts of climate change in Africa through a collective effort," Seck said.
This piece was produced by SciDev.Net's Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.
