{"id":10060,"date":"2023-11-29T16:17:59","date_gmt":"2023-11-29T16:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/?p=10060"},"modified":"2023-11-29T16:17:59","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T16:17:59","slug":"three-significant-developments-regarding-climate-action-in-africa-in-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/10060\/three-significant-developments-regarding-climate-action-in-africa-in-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Three significant developments regarding climate action in Africa in 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Nicholas P. Simpson<\/a><\/span>*<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2023 is highly likely to be the\u00a0hottest year ever recorded<\/a>. And climate change is\u00a0to blame for one-quarter<\/a>\u00a0of the global population being exposed to dangerous levels of extreme heat.<\/p>\n

We need signs that countries are taking steps to address this. Specifically, we need\u00a0climate action<\/a>\u00a0that helps us adapt and that cuts greenhouse gas emissions, if we want to minimise the escalating losses and damages from climate change.<\/p>\n

This year, there were three developments across Africa which highlight a mix of progress, priorities and potential pitfalls. As an expert on climate-resilient development for Africa, I\u2019ve chosen these specific moments as I believe they reflect the role Africa can take on climate action over the coming decade.<\/p>\n

Three big developments<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Kenya pushes for a new climate finance strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the\u00a0Africa Climate Summit<\/a>, Kenya\u2019s president William Ruto made a big announcement that could boost\u00a0global investment in Africa\u2019s renewable energy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ruto highlighted the need for more favourable\u00a0climate finance which would enable African countries to transition<\/a>\u00a0to a green industrialisation that accelerates uptake of solar and wind power and development of mineral resources that support this transition. This included a call to increase finance from multilateral development banks for climate action to at least US$500 billion per year. Global climate finance need is estimated to be\u00a0at least US$6 trillion every year<\/a>. But disbursements fall way short at US$1.3 trillion in 2021\/2022.<\/p>\n

Ruto also called for a\u00a0global debt relief deal<\/a>\u00a0that will give a 10-year grace period to heavily indebted African nations. These countries would not be able to invest in climate action while under severe debt distress, particularly since climate change has already negatively affected economic growth in African countries. An important dimension of this change is the call for increased representation of African and other countries in the governance of multilateral banks.<\/p>\n

Carbon offsets and Africa\u2019s new carbon markets<\/strong><\/p>\n

This year, there\u2019s been a lot of new\u00a0interest in Africa\u2019s carbon markets<\/a>\u00a0and a growing sentiment that Africa cannot be \u201cnature-rich but cash-poor<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

A carbon market is a system designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by allowing companies and countries\u00a0to compensate for their carbon emissions<\/a>\u00a0by financing projects that reduce emissions or remove CO\u2082 from the atmosphere somewhere else.<\/p>\n

Africa has a potentially enormous and untapped carbon market due to its size, biodiversity and range of ecosystems. If used well, funds could\u00a0help countries to adapt<\/a>\u00a0to climate change and protect their biodiversity.<\/p>\n

This year, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) \u2013 the host of this year\u2019s UN climate change conference,\u00a0COP28<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 allocated\u00a0US$1.5 billion for investment in Zimbabwe<\/a>\u00a0to fund forest protection and rehabilitation projects. This was part of a broader commitment of US$4.5 billion in investments across multiple African countries including Kenya, Liberia, Tanzania, and Zambia. It could make the UAE the single largest investor in African carbon markets.<\/p>\n

In addition, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange \u2013 Africa\u2019s largest stock exchange \u2013 opened trading on its\u00a0new voluntary carbon market<\/a>\u00a0in mid-November. The South African voluntary carbon market intends to accelerate the creation of carbon offset projects for anyone seeking to offset their greenhouse gas emissions. For example, for every tonne of carbon emitted, you can now buy an equivalent to a tonne of carbon captured by a forest restoration project.<\/p>\n

Carbon markets, however, are not a silver bullet.<\/p>\n

Carbon market investments can be\u00a0abused by high-emitting countries or companies, particularly when implemented in contexts with poor governance<\/a>. Countries with high emissions can use carbon markets as a \u201cgreen-washing mechanism\u201d to avoid deep and rapid reductions.<\/p>\n

Carbon markets have also been criticised for\u00a0violation<\/a>\u00a0of human rights. For instance, the projects they fund may lead to the forced displacement of indigenous communities from their ancestral lands.<\/p>\n

Carbon markets therefore need to be carefully scrutinised. Specifically, they need to be checked for elite capture, outcomes for affected communities and their inclusion in carbon markets.<\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s climate change bill is passed<\/strong><\/p>\n

Five years in the making,\u00a0South Africa has finally passed its landmark Climate Change Bill<\/a>. The bill aims to enable the development of an effective climate change response and a long-term transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy. This is an important step for Africa\u2019s highest emitter of greenhouse gas as it joins 19 other African countries with\u00a0dedicated climate change laws<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Notably, the bill treats climate change adaptation and mitigation as equally important. It provides for substantially scaled up support for adaptation to climate change across all levels. It also gives support to a just energy transition away from coal and towards renewable energy sources.<\/p>\n

It shows a substantial advance in how the government is addressing climate change. Importantly, it takes into account the risks and opportunities that are expected to arise as a consequence of inadequate, slow or inequitable national climate change response.<\/p>\n

There is a chance the bill may become an Act of Parliament before COP28 ends on 12 December 2023.<\/p>\n

Who will benefit?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Across these three developments, the range of emphases between climate change adaptation and greenhouse gas mitigation reflects contrasting priorities and strategies.<\/p>\n

They also reflect a diversity of interests \u2013 from global actors looking to use African investment opportunities to offset their carbon emissions, to African governments looking to boost investment in key adaptation and mitigation sectors.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s critical is that African countries are able to access finance so that they can adapt to climate change. The UN recently reported that\u00a0adaptation costs for developing countries are estimated at up to US$387 billion annually this decade<\/a>. Further, the needs of developing countries are 10 to 18 times higher than the current flow of public financing. This dwarfs current climate finance commitments and highlights the need for a focus on finance for adaptation as well as mitigation.<\/p>\n

African countries must have enough to address their funding gap, not just finance for offsetting the emissions of high-polluting countries.<\/p>\n

\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640<\/p>\n

* Senior Research Fellow, Climate and Sustainability, ODI, Overseas Development Institute<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Across these three developments, the range of emphases between climate change adaptation and greenhouse gas mitigation reflects contrasting priorities and strategies.
\nThey also reflect a diversity of interests \u2013 from global actors looking to use African investment opportunities to offset their carbon emissions, to African governments looking to boost investment in key adaptation and mitigation sectors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10061,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":2,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"source_name":"The Conversation","source_url":"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/climate-action-for-africa-in-2023-three-big-developments-217297","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"1","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"0","show_view_counter":"0","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"0","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"0","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"0","show_popup_post":"0","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"1"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":"","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"","hide":""},"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"override_view_counter":"0","view_counter_number":"0","override_share_counter":"0","share_counter_number":"0","override_like_counter":"0","like_counter_number":"0","override_dislike_counter":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,1791],"tags":[1792,1793],"class_list":["post-10060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis-reports","category-climate-change","tag-climate-action-in-africa","tag-climate-change-bill"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}