Give Africa more funds for climate change actions - Dr. Anthony Nyong

Dr. Anthony Nyong, Division Manager, Environment and Social Protection, African Development Bank (AfDB), has called for sustained and increased funding to aid the implementation of climate change actions in the continent.

He said about US$3 Trillion would be required to help the countries to carry out their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) towards the global effort at cutting down emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change by year 2030.

He was speaking at an African Day event at the ongoing 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24) in Polish city of Katowice.

He said there was an urgent need to enable the countries to implement their NDCs to save the continent from the negative impact of the phenomenon.
The NDCs are each country’s national effort and actions to reduce emissions and adaptation.

The Africa day event was held on the sidelines of the conference to discuss funding issues relating to these activities.

It focused on ways to enhance access to funding, capacity building, technology development and transfer.

Ninety (90) per cent of African nations - 49 out of the 54 nations, have ratified the Paris Agreement, which gives strong indication of Africa’s readiness to receive funds to implement its mitigation and adaptation measures.
Despite the huge financial need, Sub-Saharan Africa received an average of US$12 billion per year in 2015 and 2016.

This would have to be substantially increased given the fact that Africa’s inability to deliver its NDC targets would undermine global efforts at achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Dr Nyong said the AfDB was working with the countries to create the right environment to attract private resources that could be tapped into to implement climate change initiatives within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Everybody would have to be involved to enable the continent to adapt and to mitigate climate impact.

The Bank, he added, was collaborating with the countries to mobilise the resources and to mainstream their NDCs into their main national policies.

Ambassador Josefa Sacko, Commissioner for Rural Economic and Agriculture, African Union Commission, said the Africa Day event, organised at the request of African Heads of States, had been held at every COP, since the COP17 in Durban, South Africa.

She pointed out that, efforts by the 49 countries which had ratified the Paris Agreement to implement their NDCs had continued to struggle due to lack of funding.

She therefore asked the developed countries to keep to their commitment by providing funds to support the developing and least developed countries to meet their climate targets.

Dr James Murombedzi, a representative of the United Nations Economic Commission of Africa, spoke of the need to mobilise civil society, private and public sectors to contribute towards climate responses.

He said his expectation was that COP 24 was going to provide a rulebook that would push the climate agenda forward.

COP 24 is being held on the theme: “Changing Together”, is the theme chosen for COP24.