Why Nigeria must focus on 3 key priority areas at climate change confab in Egypt

Last year, world governments made a commitment at the Glasgow, UK, climate (Cop26) summit to strengthen their climate policies this year but that agreement has been broken by almost all countries. They have initially agreed at the Cop26 to improve their 2030 climate plans in order to reduce the gap between national actions and the […]

Last year, world governments made a commitment at the Glasgow, UK, climate (Cop26) summit to strengthen their climate policies this year but that agreement has been broken by almost all countries.

They have initially agreed at the Cop26 to improve their 2030 climate plans in order to reduce the gap between national actions and the Paris Agreement on temperature goals.

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The top three polluters – China, the EU, and the USA, commitments made last year is now under threat due to geopolitical strain over Russia-Ukraine crisis.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has heightened geopolitical tensions, upended global supply systems, and caused crises in inflation, oil, and food security.

In Nigeria, these difficulties have been severe particularly in agriculture where there is decrease in arable land as a result of encroaching desertification in the north, soil erosion in the south, continuous reduced soil moisture content due to increased evaporation; crop losses due to increased temperature and  droughts.

The 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) is taking place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, amid the global food, energy, and environmental security problems, as well as the rising cost of living, which is most pronounced in Africa.

African governments must cooperate if these crises are to be resolved. Their willingness to accept novel forms of cooperation to meet these challenges will be put to the test at COP27.

Experts said that as part of the COP27 Package, progress is required on each of the four pillars of the Paris Agreement: financing climate objectives, adaptation action, loss & damage responses, and reducing emissions for 1.5°C.

Now that Africa is hosting the COP, it is anticipated to put the focus on financing, adaptation, and loss & damage – problems that COP26 disregarded for many developing nations.

Mohamed Adow of the Power Shift Africa held that “in a time of food, energy, nature and debt crises and escalating cost of living, that can only be tackled if governments work together, COP27 is a political opportunity for governments to show they are moving beyond deep geopolitical rivalries to respond together to the threats causing national and global insecurity in 2022.

“This can be achieved by demonstrating implementation on climate promises of the past, agreeing new forms of collaboration to tackle these intersecting crises; both inside the UNFCCC and outside the UNFCCC, beyond the traditional ‘climate’ agenda.

“COP 27 is scheduled at a time when the Paris Agreement is being implemented and the international community is still struggling to recover from the socio-economic crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with reduced resources available in many countries for climate action.”

3 Key priorities

Experts like Mohamed Adow and Fatuma Hussein of Power Shift Africa – a climate change think-tank based in Nairobi, Kenya, listed three priority areas, which African countries must focus on at the conference.

One, the Egypt climate conference should make decisions to strengthen adaptation action and implementation, as well as promote the implementation of adaptation action and support. This includes a transformative agenda on adaptation at COP27, significant GGA outcomes, and decisions. Additionally, decisions must be made about the doubling of adaptation financing as part of the COP-26 outcome delivery plan.

The second priority for African countries is to get the developed countries to deliver and increase funding exponentially from $100bn to at least $150bn per year until 2025; fulfilment of pledges to the adaptation fund and new pledges to respond to the increasing adaptation needs and decisions for advancing the post-2025 global finance goal, including a quantum for the goal between $750bn to $1.3trn per year including a push for an established financing framework for energy transitions.

The third priority would be how the issue of loss and damage associated with climate change should be properly addressed.

This would include agreeing on operational modalities for the Santiago Network for Loss and Damage (SNLD) to provide operational technical assistance to developing countries.

The continent must also push for enhanced and additional support to be provided to developing countries for addressing loss and damage including agreeing on funding arrangements to avert, minimise and address loss and damage.

Until these priorities are dealt with, addressing the climate injustices against the continent will remained a dream to be pursued for generations to come.