Participants in the first African climate summit called on Tuesday for reform of the international financial system, in order to alleviate the debt burden which weighs on African countries and prevents them from developing their “unique potential” for renewable energies.
This historic summit aims in particular to attract international funding for green projects on the African continent, which could thus develop economically while fighting against global warming which is hitting it hard.
On Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates, which will host the next UN climate conference (COP28) at the end of the year, promised 4.5 billion dollars (4.1 billion euros) of investment in clean energy in Africa.
The initiative is expected to develop 15 gigawatts of clean energy by 2030, said Sultan Al Jaber, who heads the UAE’s national oil company ADNOC and government renewable energy company Masdar.
Sultan Al Jaber, who will also chair the COP28 discussions, also called for a “complete upgrade of the global financial architecture that was built for another era”, in particular to “reduce the debt burden” which paralyzes many countries.
After urging the world to make Africa “a renewable energy superpower”, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also called for a reform of this “outdated, unfair and dysfunctional” system.
“Global governance structures reflect the world as it was, not as it is,” he said at a press conference.
Heads of state and government, ministers and economic leaders from Africa and elsewhere have been meeting since Monday in the Kenyan capital Nairobi for an unprecedented continental summit.
This meeting launches four months of international climate negotiations, which will culminate with an announced battle on the end of fossil fuels at COP28 in Dubai from late November to early December.
“Africa holds the key to accelerating the decarbonization of the global economy,” Kenyan President William Ruto said in his opening speech on Monday, calling Africa “a powerhouse with untapped potential”.
On Tuesday, he said that without a “just regime” offering debt relief and affordable investment, the continent will not be able to tap into its green potential.
“We want a fair financial system that treats everyone the same,” he said.
Despite its wealth of natural resources, only 3% of the world’s energy investments are currently made on the African continent.
“Our goal is prosperity, not just survival,” insisted Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana’s finance minister and chairman of the V20, a grouping of more than 50 countries vulnerable to climate change.
A clean energy transition in developing countries is crucial in trying to maintain the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to “well below” two degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times, and 1. 5°C if possible.
To achieve this, the International Energy Agency says that investments will have to reach 2,000 billion dollars (1,852 billion euros) per year within a decade, eight times more than currently.
In his speech, Antonio Guterres also called on the leaders of the G20, meeting this weekend in India, to “assume (their) responsibilities”.
Tensions between the United States and China, the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world, are particularly worrying in view of COP28.
US climate envoy John Kerry told a news conference he hoped the two countries would “come together” in the face of the “universal threat” of global warming.
The summit’s focus on finance issues, however, has been met with opposition from some conservationists, who say the approach is too aligned with the interests of rich countries.
On Monday, hundreds of people demonstrated near the summit venue to denounce its “deeply corrupt agenda”.
NGOs in particular castigate the carbon credit markets, perceived as a “false solution” to clear rich countries of their greenhouse gas emissions.
The Nairobi summit also aims to deliver an African vision on development and climate for the upcoming climate negotiations, an ambitious goal for a continent home to 1.4 billion people in 54 politically and economically diverse countries.
05/09/2023 17:20:43 – Nairobi (AFP) – © 2023 AFP