Addis Ababa, 3 August 2022 (ECA) - The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) hosted the plenary meeting of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) attended by the AGN Lead Negotiators and UNFCCC National Focal Points on 3 August 2022. The meeting provided an opportunity for the AGN to discuss and consolidate Africa's common draft position ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The AGN plenary meeting took place within the series of African Roundtables on: Catalyzing climate finance and investment flows toward building climate resilience in Africa, hosted by Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
The combination of the global COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the conflict in Ukraine has had a significant socio-economic impact on Africa. Additionally, key findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) sixth assessment report showed the need for an urgent increase in public and private finance flows to accelerate climate action in areas of adaptation as well as loss and damage mitigation.
In light of this, the AGN identified 11 specific thematic issues faced by the continent and the group’s interim position on each. These issues include: doubling adaptation finance by 2025; clarification on the support arrangements to address loss and damage; closing the climate financing gap; scaling up Africa’s mitigation ambition and implementation; strengthening the linkage between technology and financial mechanisms; the global stock take on progress on the Paris Agreement; transparency; gender and climate change; agriculture; Article 6 and carbon pricing; and Africa’s unique needs and particular circumstances.
This differentiated approach to Africa stems from Africa being impacted more than any other continent, and that the adverse impacts of climate change are limiting Africa’s economic and development trajectory. While the continent only contributes less than 4% of the world’s total emission.
Fatuma Hussein, Programme Manager at Power Shift Africa and Lead Negotiator, presented the common draft position, which focuses on the importance of implementation at COP27, calling for the delivery and implementation of pledges and initiatives on finance, and adaptation, mitigation, technology and capacity building. This emphasis on implementation was echoed throughout the series of Roundtable events, specifically by the Chair of the AGN, Ephraim Shitima, who says “COP27 should be about implementation, delivering on financial pledges and commitments by developed countries and the advancing of the implementation of nationally determined contributions.”
One of the aspects of financial implementation included the request for the delivery and increase of climate financing from the floor of $100 billion to $150 billion per year until 2025. And that a new quantified collective goal of between $750 billion to $1.3 trillion per year. The AGN also expressed the need for technical support in the form of inputs, data and evidence to advance their negotiations.
The draft position is subject to further changes at the next AGN preparatory meetings in September, and further deliberations, ahead of COP 27 taking place 9-17 November in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
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