As expected, the issue of funding for the fight against climate change impacts has moved into high gear at the ongoing climate talks (COP19) in Warsaw.
While African negotiators are asking developed countries to safe the Green Climate Fund through substantial contributions the latter say African countries should turn towards their respective private sector.
According to a negotiator from Burkina Faso, Mamadou Honadia, reaching out to the private sector undoubtedly means only funding for adaptation and mitigation in the form of credit projects would be available.
"While we do not doubt the importance of the private sector, it cannot substitute the public sector which has commitments at international level through the signing and ratification of treaties," he adds .
In that regard, Mr. Honadia reiterates the standing African position which is that developed countries should shoulder their historical responsibilities by proding their respective governments to honour their commitments under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol . According to him, it is a question of will and responsibility.
African negotiators also wonder how developed countries intend to actually achieve the goal of mobilizing $100 billion per year by 2020, in line with the commitment made in Copenhagen in 2009.
"The Green Climate Fund established since Cancun and Durban is still completely without a dime, yet developed countries are aware of the urgency to get this funcional" says Honadia, before concluding that the developed countries are in the process of showing Africa that cooperation has its limits.
According to the Burkina negotiator, it is now imperative for Africa to come together and rethink a development model of its own.
It would be recalled that the negotiations in Warsaw are taking place between all stakeholders and the administration in charge of the management of the Green Climate Fund.
One of the main objectives of the COP19, is to ensure that the issue of funding for climate change is clarified, to lay the groundwork for an agreement under the auspecis of climate justice.
Climate change is already costing fortunes to rural populations, especially communities vulnerable to this phenomenon. It is therefore important to mobilize public funding additional to Official Development Assistance, including financing for adaptation for household farming in the South .
NGOs and African countries have called for more generous contributions to save the Adaptation Fund now in jeopardy.
Financing for climate change is one of the most important aspects of world wide efforts to face the climate change challenge.
It is an essential catalyst for efforts in developing countries to strengthen their resilience to climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support the transition to sustainable development.
The UN Economic Commission for Africa ( ECA) supports African countries in research, negotiations, communications and policy formulation on climate change through the African Centre for Climate Policies (ACPC ), a joint programme (ClimDev-Africa) of the UN Economic for Africa (ECA), the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
