COP27: Beyond the euphoria, negotiate for better Africa

BY ABIDEEN OLASUPO 

The 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties, #COP27, is ongoing in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, with an estimated 5,000 attendees, including world leaders, activists, and youth representatives. For the 27th year, world leaders will share more plans towards mitigating climate change disasters and a road map to keeping the earth below 2 degrees.

Alongside other global leaders, African leaders would be expected to negotiate through an African lens. It is an essential time for Africans to make quality deliberations reflecting the torrent of situations in Africa. Although climate change is a global phenomenon, it is manifested differently in Africa. With recent disasters ranging from hunger and famine in Madagascar to the flood that swept Nigeria off its feet, Africa is grossly unprepared. 

A recent publication by the World Meteorological Organisation explained that East Africa has suffered a below average “rainfall in four consecutive wet seasons, the longest in 40 years, with indications that the current season could also be dry. As a result of the persistent drought and other compounding factors, an estimated 18.4 to 19.3 million people faced food crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity before June 2022. Humanitarian agencies are warning that another below-average season will likely result in crop failure and further exacerbate the food insecurity situations in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia.

“The southern Africa region was battered by a series of cyclones over two months at the start of the year, hitting Madagascar hardest with torrential rain and devastating floods.” Over Half of the 78 million people that will experience chronic hunger by 2050 will be from Africa. COP27 isn’t just happening in Africa. Referring to it as the “implementation COP”, Africans need to negotiate mainly about climate finance, sustainable funding for climate justice and equity.”

Regarded as the ‘Implementation COP’, COP27 is the fifth COP happening in Africa. At least this is strategic for Africans, and hopes are high for beneficial engagement. Beyond the euphoria and the feeling of a COP happening in Africa, what pact favours Africans from COP27 depends on what narratives Africans are bent on putting forward. 

What did COP26 achieve for Africans?

In a panel discussion last year by the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) and AUDA-NEPAD, the African Union Development Agency, tagged; ‘Climate Change: Securing Africa’s Future’, the Glasgow climate pact from COP26 was reviewed using the decisions to measure the progress in Africa. The discovery was the wide distance between expectations and reality in Africa. The $100 billion dollar a year committed to the Paris agreement isn’t enough to offset greenhouse gas and keep the earth below 1.5 degrees.

As we speak, developed countries have not been able to come through with that commitment, even though the time frame for execution was 2020. Two years behind time, climate financing has to be a priority discussion at COP27. Power Shift Africa states that “in the last decade, the least developed countries spent an average 14% of their domestic revenue on interest payments, compared with 3.5% in developed countries”. This constrains the countries’ ability to invest in public services and worsens their credit ratings, making it harder to attract foreign investments. 

Lesley Ndlovu, a panelist at the ACET event, noted that “700 million people’s economic activities in agriculture can be impacted by extreme weather — but only 20-30 million farmers have sufficient prearranged financial coverage. Cesar Calderon noted that “the impact of drought on medium-term growth is about eight times higher for countries in Africa”.

As Africa struggles to attract investment, keeping its food production optimal is challenging.

Africans’ expectations from COP27

Every corner of Africa is filled with climate disasters. There is no need to play with people’s lives. Africa is worst hit by pollution from the developed countries. It is a time to demand climate justice, accountable expenditures, and a roadmap for climate justice. The UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, has said that the fight to defeat climate disasters and to have a liveable planet must be won this decade. COP27 is a reminder of that commitment. 

We can’t continue like this. Let the action commence. The UK has taken the lead, promising Nigeria £95 million for climate resilience. Other countries need to start putting their foot down where necessary; otherwise, this coming disaster will not spare any of us. And as the superpowers attempt to make do with their promise, Africans must not forget to demand what is right in Egypt.

Abideen is a climate justice activist. He conducts socio-economic research on climate-related issues. He is the executive director of Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative. He can be reached via [email protected] and @opegoogle on Twitter