As the 29th session of the Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change opened yesterday, the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change re-affirmed its position, highlighting adaptation and climate finance as its top priorities.
In keeping with the conference theme; ‘In solidarity for a Green World,’ African Group of Negotiators Chair, Ali Mohamed has underscored the importance of adaptation and climate finance, pointing out that the group has a clear mandate from its leaders to ensure fruitful outcomes on the two agenda items, in solidarity with the continent’s 1.4 billion people.
Ambassador Mohammed said that Africa, will be firm for COP29 to deliver on climate finance and adaptation, regardless of the circumstances surrounding our participation and who we are as a group.
He said the African Group of Negotiators is representing the aspirations of 1.4 billion Africans, and will ensure that it does not fail.
Ambassador Mohammed said have a clear mandate from leaders that the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate finance must align with actual transition costs faced by developing nations, as the current frameworks substantially underestimate the capital required for nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans implementation across the continent.
He said with a proposed quantum of USD1.3 trillion as the minimum annual threshold for climate finance, the African Group has continued to stress the importance of delivering climate resources through concessional instruments and grants, as current market-rate mechanisms have proven wholly insufficient for addressing the scale of adaptation, as well as loss and damage responses required across Africa.
Simon Stiell, UNFCCC Executive Secretary sees further signals that the World Bank and IMF are committed to ensuring developing countries have funds and the fiscal space for climate action and investment, not devastating debts and sky-high costs of capital.
