Africa, civil societies push for climate financing

Civil societies raised concern over strangulation by climate-related debts and ballooning costs to adapt and recover from climate impacts. [iStockphoto]

African governments and non-state actors are pushing for climate financing to help millions of citizens adapt and recover from climate impacts.

On June 3, the session of the UN Climate Change Subsidiary Bodies (SB60) kicked off in Bonn, Germany where parties are discussing and preparing the agenda and decisions for the annual Conference of the Parties (COP).

Top of the agenda is climate financing, which governments and civil societies say is key.

“All of us here in Bonn – Governments and Non-State Actors - are clear on what is at stake in this year’s negotiations. Securing public financing for climate action through the New Collective and Quantified Goal NCQG) tops the list of priorities that SB60 must put on a solid trajectory if any positive outcome is to be realised in Azerbaijan,” civil societies said in a joint statement.

The civil societies raised concern over strangulation by climate-related debts and ballooning costs to adapt and recover from climate impacts. They called for urgent establishment of a new global climate finance compact that connects with the aspirations of the front line communities and their vulnerable nations.

“SB60, thus, must eliminate all the bottlenecks to securing the climate finance agenda in COP29 in Baku,” read the statement in part.

They urged developed countries to stop delaying their commitments.

The civil societies do not want the loans from developed countries to developing countries which will be fully paid for with interest to be computed as part of the climate finance contribution of developed countries.

However, they want access mechanisms for climate finance that are direct and flexible to accommodate the needs of developing countries and local communities.

“As a minimum, we emphasize the need for the finance goal that has a well-replenished and robust mechanism for direct access to finance and decision-making for the last-mile institutions and communities,” they said.

The civil societies also want transparency in climate diplomacy to ensure that developed countries meet their fair share of commitment and that all pledges are swiftly disbursed to developing countries.

The civil societies noted that SB60 comes a few weeks after devastating climate-fueled floods swept across African countries leaving trails of destruction.

“At the onset, we remain steadfast on our numerous calls for climate finance goal to be centered on the provision of public finance by developed countries."

However, civil societies have raised concern over what they termed ‘attempts by those who bear the biggest responsibility on the climate crisis to transfer the burden of action to the victims of their actions’.

They blamed the biggest polluters for not honoring the financing agreements.

Climate financing, they say, is vital for undertaking actions in adaptation, loss and damage, mitigation and just transition in supporting developing countries to transition to low-carbon development pathways.

“The finance goal must adopt a people-centered, locally-led, gender-just and inclusive approach, including use of National Adaptation Plans and National Determined Contributions,” the civil societies said in a statement.