Climate change effect financing to dominate discussions at COP 27

The African Group of Negotiators on climate change has said that the continent will continue to reiterate the importance of delivering the USD 100 billion a year by 2020 goal that was not met by developed countries.

This is according to the group’s Chairman, Ephraim Shitima, who spoke while addressing a pre-Conference of Parties (COP) 27 event organized by Pan African Climate Justice Alliance in South Sinai Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

This Egyptian city will host the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The world meeting will be held from November 7-18, 2022, and is coming at a time when Africa is facing major calamities caused by global warming.

The conference comes amid unmet climate commitments from previous meetings, the global energy and food crisis that are causing unrest in many countries around the world.

Mr. Shitima reiterated that COP 27 should focus on advancing the implementation of the national determined contributions, the adaptation as well as the delivery of finance to enhance implementation of climate actions.

On the other hand, the group’s legal advisor Prof. Seth Osafo said the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has strained financial resources to Africa.

He hence urged continent to rethink its reliance on Western financing, saying "this is likely to be a challenge due to limited budgetary resources in many African countries."

Another conversation that is expected to gain prominence at the COP 27 is loss and damage narrative; with African countries planning to push rich countries to compensate for lost and damaged sources of wealth caused by climate change effects.