We gathered a diverse panel to break down the significance and outcomes of the crucial pre-COP28 meeting for Africa.
Every June, delegates from across the world meet in Bonn, Germany, to prepare the ground for the COP summit that follows in November. This year's two-week talks, concluded yesterday, were the last chance for negotiators to meet ahead of COP28 in Dubai. That crucial summit on climate change will see the first global stocktake, an assessment of progress made towards the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The Bonn talks (also known as SB58) almost ended without an agenda even being agreed and, once again, highlighted crucial divisions between (and within) the Global North and Global South. We asked a diverse range of experts, researchers, and activists to reflect on the negotiations and what they mean for Africa:
Aidah Nakku, climate and gender activist, RiseUp Movement
"The more crucial the climate emergency gets, the more intense the discussions in these rooms at SB58 become. The demands of developing countries and countries most affected by a crisis they did not cause are very clear: mitigation and climate finance.
The frustration and intensity were clear as the demands were being denied. 'It feels like I am conducting a class in primary school,' said the Pakistani co-chair of the talks at one point. He reminded the gathering that time was running short and urgent action was needed to fulfil commitments made under the Paris Agreement.
As the youth, we are living the consequences of a crisis we inherited. We came to the Bonn to represent our communities with a demand to get mitigation on the agenda. Mitigation is a crucial component of addressing climate change and securing a sustainable future. On 14 June (the penultimate day of the two-week-long talks), the agenda "fight" was finally resolved and a very concerning agenda was announced. Mitigation did not make it, but it will be included as an informal note. This basically means the issue is technically on the agenda but can be completely scrapped at any moment.
Similarly, finance for mitigation was just added as a note. The Global North would rather create and fight in more negotiation tracks than put money on the table. This is disappointing as countries like mine do not have time for this back-and-forth. This is an emergency that requires urgent action, not half-hearted measures. We need an equitable fossil fuel phase out (#EFFPO)."
Bobby Peek, Director, groundWork
"It is of grave concern that while rich countries have blocked discussions on climate finance and equity at every turn during these talks, carbon markets are quietly progressing. Big polluters must be delighted. Carbon markets have failed to date. There are no possible rules that can actually make the global carbon market work. Carbon markets are a distraction from real climate action and cause grave harm - preventing emissions reductions and climate finance, opening the door to dangerous new technologies like geoengineering, and threatening communities in the Global South with land grabs and human rights violations,"
As we look to COP28, it is obvious that developed countries will want to blame developing countries for lack of progress, for fighting over agendas. But agenda fights are a symptom of a deeper injustice. Developing countries are fighting for the climate finance that is not only their due, but which is required to ensure a just transition to a new renewable energy system for all."
David McNair, Executive Director for Global Policy, ONE
"As North Atlantic sea surface temperatures hit record highs, negotiators at the Bonn Climate talks spent more than a week trying to agree on an agenda for their meeting. A compromise to unlock the meeting left the most pressing issue off the table - financing for mitigation. It's baffling that the countries that caused this problem, then promised to provide finance to address it won't do what they said they were going to.
But even more baffling is that rich countries don't see the missed opportunity of not building better alliances. Because many of the countries angered by this lack of integrity are also those that could unlock an economic transformation that could emerge from the energy transition. Africa, for example, has more than 70% of the world's cobalt and platinum - essential for battery technology. The Great Rift Valley in Kenya is the World's No. 1 location for Carbon Capture and Storage because of its geo-thermal energy and basalt rock.
On the positive side, however, some leaders have recognised the need to address the financing issue at the scale required. On 22-23 June, 100 leaders will meet in Paris for the Summit on a New Financial Pact to address the roughly 2% of GDP needed in emerging economies (excluding China).. To do this they should agree on transformational shifts such as tripling the World Bank's lending to low- and middle-income countries which could yield $1.2 trillion by 2030, and agree on the use of IMF Special Drawing Rights through similar banks.
This would unlock low-cost lending in the trillions, allowing vulnerable countries to invest in clean energy infrastructure and support both human development and climate resilience."
Mohammed Adow, Director, Powershift Africa
"This is an important year in the fight to stop climate change. World nations are undertaking a 'stocktake' to measure how we are doing in cutting carbon emissions which will limit the catastrophic climate impacts ravaging Africa. To fix the crisis there are three elements: we need to agree to phaseout all fossil fuels; we need to triple renewable investment to fill the gap; and we need to ensure the transition from dirty to clean energy is quick but fair.
This transition is vital for Africa. Our people are acutely vulnerable to rising temperatures, droughts, floods, and storms. 600 million of us don't have access to electricity. The answer is not fossil fuels, which will make our situation worse, but embracing the abundant clean wind and solar power we are blessed with. To harness it though, we need investment and technology from richer nations that have caused the crisis, hence why that transition needs to be fair.
Those richer nations have promised $100 billion in climate finance as well as another $40 billion to help people adapt to climate change - but the pledges have not yet been met. These fake promises undermine trust between countries and show that rich nations cannot be taken seriously until their actions match their words. We need to see the African voice take on a leadership role. A group of African experts recently published a report, backed by the Kenyan president, laying out a development vision which would see Africa transformed. It shows how African leaders can tackle climate change, boost energy access, and usher in an era of prosperity for the whole continent."
Fatou Jeng, UN Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change
"I am a climate optimist because I believe we will take effective actions to address the climate crises even with the challenges - but, if I am honest, every year's climate talks can feel the same. We turn up each time and discuss the same things we discussed the previous years. We spend hours in meeting rooms going back and forth and leave with nothing tangible, making the whole process tedious. Or we end up returning to old issues as developing countries try to hold developed countries accountable for failing to fulfil the pledges they made previously. We are now gearing up to COP28, the 28th UN climate conference. We don't want to keep going until COP100.
Africa also cannot afford to. My continent is disproportionately affected by climate change due to its severe lack of finances compared to other regions. We are suffering from flooding, land degradation, droughts, and cyclones. All this affects our food security, migration, conflict, education, and health.
Climate change is an emergency for Africa, a matter of life and death. That is why we desperately needed concrete action from Bonn - especially in terms of financing for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage.
What we got was just about enough to give us some glimmers of hope for COP28. At those negotiations, we will need real implementation. Those who suffer most from mere talk without action are the hundreds of millions of people in the world who have contributed the least to this problem."
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John Asafu-Adjaye, Senior Fellow, Economic Management and Governance Program, African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET)
"Negotiators at COP28 this November are expected to revisit and drastically expand the old and unmet climate finance commitment of $100 billion per year to help developing countries adapt to climate change and implement mitigation initiatives. However, if the Bonn climate conference is any indication of the direction at COP28, we are likely to witness further neglect of the urgent financing needs of the countries most at risk from climate change. This is not only disappointing but an existential danger to the global climate agenda.
On current trends, Africa's climate gap is around $1.3 trillion for the decade 2020-2030. Unfortunately, the crucial issue of climate finance notably gained little traction in the negotiations and discussions in Bonn. The failure to make solid progress on finding concrete and lasting solutions to the ever-growing climate finance deficit is especially concerning in light of the debt crisis that many African countries face today, which is already exacerbated by climate shocks. Countries need debt cancellation, predictable and sufficient funds, and financing mechanisms that can bring onboard private investment and align it with climate objectives. Instead, much of the 'funding' for climate action continues to take the form of loans, which would further burden vulnerable economies instead of offering relief.
Climate finance is not only a matter of justice and equity, but also the only way to ensure a just energy transition for Africa and the world. Looking ahead, the Africa Climate Summit in Kenya in September will be another critical moment to secure momentum for the funding Africa needs to unlock its enormous potential for renewable energy development. Without it, African countries will struggle to meet their energy needs, reduce their emissions, and enhance their resilience."
Where we ask a diverse panel of experts, researchers, and activists to reflect.
