Africa – COP25 Climate Conference

African delegates push for special consideration to allow the continent more resources to tackle extreme weather events.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has urged the continent’s nations to stay the course on climate action, after a marathon session of talks at the COP25 climate conference in Madrid.

The conference was scheduled to run from December 2nd – 13th, but only concluded business on the 15th, two days after the official programme ended.

Meanwhile, back home, Africans were reminded of the all-too-real consequences if these talks fail to deliver results. Thousands of East Africans have been displaced in the wake of heavy rains that have battered the region since October, and more wet weather is expected due to an Indian Ocean Dipole attributed to the warming of the ocean.

Such extreme weather events should galvanise Africans; their governments are spending 2% of GDP on climate related disasters, said Anthony Nyong, Director for Climate Change and Green Growth at the AfDB. He encouraged the global community to remain steadfast in finding effective solutions to climate change.

“The global community, and in particular Africa has a lot to offer in terms of solutions; what is evidently lacking is the global political will to turn potential into wealth to serve humanity and the planet,” said Nyong, who led the Bank’s delegation to the United Nations (UN) conference.

African delegates pushed for support for climate finance to build resilience against the impact of climate change and for special consideration for Africa around targets contained in the treaties under discussion.

The discussions at COP25 centred around the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, which calls on countries to cut carbon emissions to ensure that global temperatures do not rise by more than 2°C by the end of this century, while attempting to contain it within 1.5°C.  The conference ended with a declaration on the “urgent need” to close the gap between existing emissions pledges and the temperature goals of the Paris agreement.

Nyong pointed out that Africa is committed: 51 of the 54 African countries have already ratified their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.

The AfDB committed to doubling its climate finance support to African countries. Source: CC 2019

Support for the Bank-funded Desert to Power project highlighted Africa’s determination to strive for a climate-friendly world, especially for its local populations, said Nyong. Desert to Power is a $20bn initiative to deploy solar energy solutions across the entire Sahel region, generating 10,000 MW to provide 250m people with clean electricity.

“The AfDB stands ready as ever to assist its regional member countries to build resilience against climate change, as indicated by the Bank’s decision to join the Alliance for Hydromet Development, announced at COP25,” Nyong said.

“Through the Hydromet Alliance, we are committed to doubling our climate finance support to African countries and will work with them to transition from dealing with disaster emergencies to building resilience against the impacts of extreme weather events.”

Leaders and institutions from 196 nations plus the European Union (EU), who have signed up to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, attended the conference in Madrid. (afdb.org 13, 16/12)

The AfDB together with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the African Union development agency (AUDA-NEPAD) presented at COP25 a digital application to help African countries grappling with the simultaneous implementation of key global initiatives.

The Guide for Integrated Planning in Africa will help mainstream initiatives including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), AU Agenda 2063 and NDCs into African countries’ national development plans.

Aliou Dia, UNDP Resident Representative in Togo, said the new guide “will help governments in the continent to accelerate the delivery of the SDGs in the decade of implementation; it will also support the implementation of UNDP’s Climate Promise which helps countries revise and submit enhanced NDCs by 2020, and reflect them into their new national development plans.” (afdb.org 11/12)

Find out more in the Africa Research Bulletin: 

Africa Climate Resilient Infrastructure Summit
Economic, Financial and Technical series
Vol. 52, Issue 4

South Africa: Climate Investment Boost
Economic, Financial and Technical series
Vol. 56, Issue 8

COMESA: Reacting to Climate Change
Economic, Financial and Technical series
Vol. 56, Issue 10

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