Toothless global financial architecture fuelling Africa’s climate crisis

Panellists led by Kenya’s President William Ruth (middle) conduct a session during the Africa Climate Summit 2023 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on September 5, 2023. Luis Tato / AFP

Toothless global financial architecture fuelling Africa’s climate crisis

As thousands con­vene in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, for the Africa Climate Summit, the first time the African Union has summoned its leaders to solely discuss climate change under the theme ‘Driving Green Growth and Climate Fi­nance Solutions for Africa and the World’, the backdrop is a country on the frontlines of a climate crisis.

The severe, sharp effects of cli­mate change are piercing the very heart of an economy propped up by rainfed agriculture and tour­ism – sectors highly susceptible to climate change. After five consec­utive failed rainy seasons, more than 6.4 million people in Kenya, among them 602,000 refugees, need humanitarian assistance – representing a 35 per cent increase from 2022.

It is the highest number of peo­ple in need of aid in more than ten years, says Ann Rose Achieng, a Nairobi-based climate activist. She tells IPS that Kenya is hurtling full speed towards a national disaster in food security as “at least 677,900 children and 138,800 pregnant and breastfeeding women in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid regions alone are facing acute malnutrition. Nearly 70 per cent of our wildlife was lost in the last 30 years.”

Despite Kenya contributing less than 0.1 per cent of the global greenhouse gas emissions per year, the country’s pursuit of a low carbon and resilient green development pathway produced a most ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to cut greenhouse gasses by 32 per cent by 2030 in line with the Paris Agreement.

But as is the case across Africa, there are no funds to actualise these lofty ambitions. Africa needs approximately USD 579.2 billion in adaptation finance over the period 2020 to 2030, and yet the current adaptation flows to the continent are five to ten times below estimated needs. Globally, the estimated gap for adaptation in developing countries is expected to rise to USD 340 billion per year by 2030 and up to USD 565 billion by 2050, while the mitigation gap is at USD 850 billion per year by 2030.

Frederick Kwame Kumah, Vice President of Global Leadership African Wildlife Foundation, tells IPS a big part of the problem is Africa’s burgeoning gross public debt which increased from 36 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 71.4 per cent of GDP between 2010 and 2020 – a drag on its development progress and a disincentive for climate finance flows.

“There is a concern that climate finance, if and when provided, will be used to first service Africa’s debt burden. The first step to addressing Africa’s Climate Finance must be action towards debt relief for Africa. Freeing up debt servicing arrangements will release resources for continued develop­ment and climate finance purpos­es,” Kumah explains.

He says there is an urgent need to challenge the existing unfair par­adigm for financing by developing countries. It is very expensive for developing countries to borrow for development purposes. Africa must then leverage its natural capital to­wards seeking innovative financing mechanisms such as green bonds and carbon credits to address its development and climate change challenges.

“Climate finance was, as ex­pected, a key part of COP27. It is a grave concern for Africa that developed countries’ commitment to provide $100 billion annually has yet to be met, even though the need for finance is becoming increasingly obvious. In COP27, we noted that new climate finance pledges were more limited than ex­pected. Countries such as those in Africa are still waiting for previous pledges to be fulfilled,” says Luther Bois Anukur, Regional Director, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).

Meanwhile, Anukur tells IPS negotiations on important agen­da items, most notably the new finance target for 2025, stalled. In COP27, Parties concentrated on procedural issues – deferring important decisions about the amount, timeframe, sources, and accountability mechanisms that may be relevant to a new finance goal in the future. African coun­tries and many other vulnerable countries are in the fight for our lives, and sadly they are losing.

Anukur stresses that Africa’s natural resources are depleted, eroded, and biodiversity lost due to extreme effects of climate change leading to loss of lives and ecosystem services and damage to infrastructure at an alarming rate. Yet climate finance pledges have not materialised. The Africa Climate Summit should be the platform for Africa and developing partners to address existing finance gaps with clear programmatic and project approaches.

Africa must use the Summit to assess and prepare their position for the COP28 in the United Arab Emirates towards strengthening partnerships for the delivery of desired climate finance. Kumah adds that the principle of equal but differentiated responsibilities of nations must be adhered to for climate justice and to enable devel­oping countries, who are least re­sponsible for the effects of climate, to have much-needed resources to cope and adapt to biodiversity loss and climate change.

“In that respect, the creation of a dedicated funding mecha­nism to address loss and damage and another for adaptation and mitigation to redress historical and continued inequities in contribu­tions towards biodiversity loss and climate change. We must rethink how private investments can be reshaped and harnessed for the benefit of biodiversity and climate action,” Kumah expounds.

“Private investments can be scaled through green bonds, carbon markets, sustainable agricultural, forestry and other productive sector supply chains. Transformative financing architec­ture is necessary at the domestic and international levels to bring the private and public sectors together to secure the critical backbone of Africa’s natural infrastructure.”

While developing countries submitted revised and ambitious National Adaptation Plans and NDCs as requested, Anukur says complicated processes to access financing for their climate actions persist. Stressing the need for re­forming the international financial architecture, starting with multilat­eral development banks.

“The 2023 Summit for New Global Financing Pact held in Paris committed to a coalition of 16 philanthropic organisations to mobilise investment and support UN’s SDG priorities by unlocking new investment for climate action in low- and middle-income coun­tries while reducing poverty and inequality,” Anukur observes.

Civil society organisations and activists such as Achieng have expressed concerns that such announcements are insufficient considering the scale of the challenges facing planet Earth. The Summit will have failed if the global financial architecture is not overhauled in line with the needs of the African continent, she says.

Anukur says the Summit must therefore propel Africa to new heights of climate financing to help reduce Africa’s vulnerability to climate change and increase its resilience and adaptive capacity in line with the Global Goal on Adaptation. Ultimately expressing optimism that the opportunity to unlock the potential of climate financing – breaking the shackles of debt and building a climate-re­silient and prosperous Africa is, at last, in sight. —IPS Proofed

Granted Bail/samba/18/10/2023

Man, girlfriend granted  GH¢500,00 bail for allegedly shooting policeman, another victim

LAWRENCE VOMAFA-AKPALU

A High Court in Accra yesterday granted GH¢500,00 bail with two sureties eact to  the Diector of Ghallywood , William Awuku Akuffo, and his girlfried, for allegedly shooting a  policeman at Sege in the Ada East Dirtrict of the Greater Accra Region, in June 2015.

Ms  Rynie-LT Simons, the girl of Mr Akuffo, shot Constable Felix Nettey in the thigh with a foregn pistol.

This was after the victim had asked the accused to calm down, put the gun away and move their car from where it was parked, since it posed danger to other motorists.

Ms Simons was charged with use of offensive weapon while Akuffo was charged with possession of firearm without lawful excuse.

As part of the bail conditions , the locations of accused must be verified by the prosecution and also have their photographs placed on court records to aid in the publication of their pictures in the media in case they jump bail.

The court presided by Justice Mari Louis-Simons, empanneled a seven-member jury to begin hearing of the case, and adjourned proceedings to November 17, 2023.

Detective Inspector Godsway Amegee, prosecuting, told the court that the complainant is Constable Felix Nettey, stationed at Kassie, in the Greater Accra Region, while the accused both live at Ghallywood, Dawa.

He said on June 30, 2015, at about 5pm, Mr Akuffo, driving a Hummer 2 private car with registration number Vino 1-11 with the girlfriend on board, went to Dawa to withdraw money from an MTN mobile money agent, near the Ada Rural Bank, Sege branch.

The court heard that as accused parked his car, a gentleman (whose identity is not yet to known) approached him to move the vehicle from that spot as it posed danger to other road users.

Insp Amegee stated did not go down well with Mr Akuffo, resulting in exchange of words and he (Mr Akuffo) reached for his pistol.

The court heard that an eye witness at the scene drew the attention of Constable Nettey, who was on duty at the Ada Rural Bank Sege branch.

Insp Amegee said that Mr Akuffo handed over a gun to his girlfriend at the front seat of the vehicle and she threatened to shoot those around.

The court heard that the policeman asked Ms Simons to calm down and put the pistol away, but she shot the policeman in the left thigh.

Insp Amegee stated that Ms Simons shot again and the bullet hit another person, Joe Fuji, in the rib, who was returning from work.

The prosecution indicated that the policeman in return shot at the front tyre of the vehicle and deflated it, and the accused who sped off was however, arrested.

Insp Amegee said Ms Simons escaped and reported herself to the police, but denied shooting anyone, during interrogation.