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Africa: COP29 – Africa's Negotiating Strategy Must Build On Past Lessons

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2 months ago

November 19, 2024

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A stronger Africa is essential for the world to effectively build resilience against the impacts of climate change. The Africa we want is the Africa the World needs
The ongoing 2024 Conference of Parties (COP 29) dubbed as the “Financing COP,” is convening in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 – 22 November 2024.
Mixed in with the diatribe about the choice of meeting location is the apprehension that the current trajectory of global warming is rapidly accelerating in the wrong direction than previously anticipated.
The latest United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)’s Emissions Gap Report 2024 reveals that global greenhouse gas emissions hit a record high in 2023, increasing by 1.3 per cent from the previous year. Without a “quantum leap” in actions, temperatures may rise well beyond the hoped-for 2 degrees Celsius, pushing the climate crisis to a new extreme.
This trajectory is devastating for African countries, already grappling with the disastrous impacts of floods, droughts, and extreme weather events, and unprepared to withstand the worsening impacts of climate change. Economically, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that for every 2 degrees of warming above pre-industrial levels, Africa loses approximately 5% of its GDP.
At COP29, climate financing is at the centre of many of the discussions and proposed actions. African countries should approach these negotiations with caution, given previous unmet promises.
African nations must change course or refine their negotiation strategies moving forward.
Past COPs saw African countries committing to increasingly ambitious national climate action plans – the National Determined Contributions (NDCs). However, the financing needed to meet these NDCs, has been insufficient or entirely lacking.
Pledges like the Just Energy Transition Plan (JETP) announced during COP26 in 2021 promised $8.5 billion for South Africa to transition from coal. Looking back, only a tiny fraction, about 4% of the JETP funding has been provided as grants, the reminder was in form of concessional and non-concessional loans. These loans tend to add to the overall debt burden.
Moreover, even for the grants, only about 24% of the funding get to reach the South African institutions as the final beneficiaries. The rest of the money is disbursed through the donor country’s own research institutions, banks, or agencies, who will invariably take their own cuts in administrative and other costs, further reducing the impact.
Again, even if the JETP funding was to be fully disbursed, it would still not cover the extensive infrastructure needed to phase out the existing coal plants and reconfigure South Africa’s energy mix. Sometimes it may be more convenient to spend the money on feasibility studies for projects that lack implementation financing and technical capacity building on the off chance that they ever get built.
Still on financing, at COP26 wealthier nations further pushed the deadline for fulfilling their 2009 pledge of $100 billion annual climate funding, initially set for 2020, to years down the road. Still, the COP set in motion a process to establish new climate financing goals, with technical discussions taking place until the end of 2024.
COP29 is hosting negotiations on the “new collective quantified goals on climate finance” (NCQG). Africa must ensure this round of talks achieves better outcomes.
In addition to new higher pledge amounts, parties should agree on:

Who pays for it (developed countries want to add “parties in a position to contribute”)
A thematic scope to include allocations for adaptation and loss and damage financing.
Time frames of the financing goal.

In August 2024, the African Group of Negotiators met in Nairobi and agreed on the continent’s common position for COP29. The position calls for more ambitious financing to support of Africa’s NDCs, which require around $2.8 trillion between 2020 and 2030.
So far, the continent has received a pittance compared to what it needs, and having an empty promise of a higher ambition may not change much.
African negotiators must therefore push for clearer rules on climate finance. In the absence of clear accounting rules of what constitutes climate finance, many of the wealthier countries are using different methodologies and categorizing even regular loans or foreign aid as climate finance.
On expectations from COP29, Africa must be realistic and learn from the past, whether from the high hopes on carbon markets, where details are still being negotiated, or from the minimal funding provided to the Loss and Damage fund, which has only received $10 million of the $680 million pledged.
Changing negotiation strategy
At COP29, African countries should shift their negotiation strategies. They must turn to collective bargain and leverage the continent’s vast resources – agriculture, minerals, forests, and marine assets – as a bargaining chip for tangible development and climate action.
For example, critical minerals–including lithium, cobalt, aluminum, and platinum–are essential for global energy transition and hence lowering the global carbon footprint. Africa has large reserves of these minerals, and demand for them is projected to surge sixfold by 2040 – 40 times higher for lithium and 20 times higher for cobalt.
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However, Africa’s capacity to capitalize on these resources will require collectively investing in a continental energy and transport infrastructure that supports manufacturing and value addition and move away from the “pit to port” extractive model.
Similarly, Africa needs to invest in its most significant asset: its people. While many African countries have developed and rolled out programmes to educate their citizens on climate change, their levels of vulnerability could be exacerbated if these strategies are not combined with other long-term planning in crucial sectors such as energy, food systems, and urban planning.
At the UN Office of the Special Advisor on Africa (OSAA), we say, “The Africa we want is the Africa the World needs.” African countries should enter COP29 negotiations on these terms and push for recognition that a stronger Africa has far-reaching implications on whether the world pivots in time to build resilience to impacts of climate change.
Ms. Bitsat Yohannes is a Programme Management Officer and cluster lead for Energy and Climate at the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA).
Read the original article on Africa Renewal.
COP29 in Baku Near Final Stretch Amid Urgent Calls for Climate Finance
COP29 – Rep Advocates Tax Breaks, Grants for Youths in Renewable Energy
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Africa: Senegal Coach Diallo – 'We Are Not Overwhelmed By the Pressure of Champions'

Published

31 minutes ago

January 13, 2025

An24 Africa

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Successor to Pape Thiaw, the man who led Senegal to the title of African champion at the TotalEnergies CHAN 2022 in Algeria, Souleymane Diallo now bears the responsibility of defending the continental crown.
A few weeks before the kick-off of the 2024 TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) to be played in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania from 1-28 February, he shares his state of mind, his team’s preparations and the challenges of this new edition.
With a wealth of experience on the continental stage, Diallo is aware of the expectations placed on him and his squad, which is largely made up of new faces.
In this exclusive interview, he talks about the pressure of being the title holder and the strategic importance of the CHAN for domestic football. The challenge is immense, but Diallo approaches this competition with serenity and a plan, ready to write a new chapter in the history of Senegalese football.
CAFOnline: What is your state of mind a few weeks before the start of the 2024 TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship?
Souleymane Diallo: I have a very good state of mind overall. I think the boys are aware of what is at stake in this competition, but we must not put ourselves under pressure. For me, the most important thing is the first game. We will have to approach it with a very good state of mind, a very good mentality, but above all an African mentality which consists of being serene first and identifying the obstacles we need to tackle.
How are your preparations going?
Overall, very good. The program plan that we have drawn up is proceeding normally. Now, we are in our 14th week, more precisely, including the preparation phases for the qualifiers. From Monday (13 January), we will take the boys in closed groups. We will stay there until the start of the competition. We will have a training camp in a country bordering the three host countries (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania).
Senegal is the title holder. Does this add extra pressure?
No, no pressure! I am used to saying that. Pressure is important in all things. Most importantly, the source of the pressure must first be identified. If you identify the source of the pressure and you identify the nature of the pressure, for me, right now, there’s no more pressure, but there’s situational awareness. It’s true that Senegal is African champion, but don’t forget that the African champion squad is not the same squad as we have at the moment. We only have two survivors (Serigné Koita and Aboudoulaye Dieng). So, we will have to analyse strongly. Does Senegal come with its African champions or does Senegal come with the title of African champion? We have to point out the nuanced difference between these two. But what is most important, we will come to approach this competition in the best possible way, while not hiding our coat as African champions. On the contrary, this awareness of our African champion mantle pushes us to have a much more cautious approach, a much more serene approach.
Why is the CHAN an important competition in your eyes?
The CHAN is a very important competition. I usually tell journalists that. Already, the CHAN reflects the level of competition of the nation itself. Today, the characteristic of the CHAN is that it takes into account players playing in their local championship. Today, I tell my colleagues that we represent the championship itself, the Senegalese championship, because the CHAN will reflect the level of the Senegalese league. That’s why, for me, it’s a special competition, a very important competition.
You were the coach of the Senegalese team at the African Games. How has this pan-African, continental experience been useful to you and will it serve you well for the CHAN?
I think that today, I have a little African experience. This pan-African experience will serve as a support for us to be able to approach this competition. I have had the opportunity to do several African and world competitions. Three Junior World Cups, three Junior African Cups, two African Games. I think we will base ourselves on these experiences, on these African competitions, to be able to approach this competition in the most serene way possible.
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Apart from Senegal, which teams can lift the trophy?
Today, it will be very, very difficult to say about the teams. You will of course agree with me that in Africa, all the teams are improving. The teams are very, very, very rigorous, both in terms of the training approach, but also in terms of management, because sporting performance is made up of two essential parameters. There are external factors and internal factors. In Africa, people are starting to work, to take these two factors into account. Previously, we were limited to the internal factors of performance. Today, most African teams work on their environment. So it will be very difficult, bordering on suicidal, to want to predict the potential winners.
The TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship 2024 (CHAN) Plane is almost ready to take off. ✈️👀 pic.twitter.com/w7DwqMelUA— CAF_Online (@CAF_Online) December 31, 2024
Read the original article on CAF.
Will Kenyans Be Allowed Free Entry At CHAN?
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Govt Refutes Claims of Zambia’s Blacklisting from UN Human Rights Council

Published

1 hour ago

January 13, 2025

an24afri

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By Mary Kachepa

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has dismissed media reports suggesting that Zambia has been blacklisted from the United Nations Human Rights Council for alleged failure to uphold human rights standards. The Ministry clarified that the UN General Assembly has not considered nor adopted any resolution for the suspension or removal of Zambia from the Council because the country is currently not holding a seat at the Council.

Permanent Secretary in charge of International Relations and Cooperation, Etambuyu Gundersen, stated that Zambia intends to contest for a seat on the Council at the UN General Assembly elections in 2026 under the African States Region quota for SADC.

Ms. Gundersen told journalists at a media briefing hosted by the Ministry of Information and Media in Lusaka that the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression is expected in the country on January 19 at the invitation of the government.

She noted that Zambia was among the inaugural members to serve on the Human Rights Council when it was established from 2006 to 2008.

Ms. Gundersen explained that the Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental body under the United Nations that comprises 47 member states elected by a majority vote of the UN General Assembly to serve for three years on a rotational basis. She further explained that countries are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.

Ms. Gundersen described as false an article published by the Daily Nation Newspaper that the United Nations has sanctioned Zambia for rights violations. She advised that while freedom of expression is a constitutional right, it must be exercised within the limits and confines of the law.

The post Govt Refutes Claims of Zambia’s Blacklisting from UN Human Rights Council appeared first on ZNBC-Just for you.

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Africa: CAF Confederation Cup – Enyimba's Quarterfinal Hopes Under Threat After Al Masry Draw

Published

4 hours ago

January 13, 2025

An24 Africa

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The result leaves the two-time African champions in a precarious position, needing a win against group leaders Zamalek in their final match to have any chance of progressing to the quarterfinals
Nigeria Premier League side Enyimba are teetering on the brink of elimination from the CAF Confederation Cup.
This follows their 1-1 draw against Egyptian club Al Masry in their penultimate Group D fixture at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on Sunday.
The result leaves the two-time African champions in a precarious position, needing a win against group leaders Zamalek in their final match to progress to the quarterfinals.
Even a victory might not suffice, as their fate also hinges on bottom-placed Black Bulls denying Al Masry a win in their last group-stage encounter.
Match summary
The visitors, Al Masry, took an early lead in the 7th minute through Mohamed Hashem, capitalising on a defensive lapse by the People’s Elephant. Despite Enyimba’s spirited efforts to find a response, they went into halftime trailing 1-0.
The second half started with renewed intensity from Enyimba, and their persistence paid off just two minutes after the restart. Ifeanyi Ihemekwele headed home a sublime equaliser, much to the home crowd’s delight.
Goalkeeper Ani Ozoemena emerged as the night’s hero, pulling off a series of crucial saves, including a penalty stop in the 68th minute, to keep Enyimba in the contest.
However, despite dominating possession and creating chances, the Nigerian side failed to find the winner that could have bolstered their quarterfinal aspirations.
Group D standings
After five rounds of matches, Zamalek have already secured their place in the quarterfinals, sitting comfortably atop the group with 11 points.
Al Masry, with six points, occupy second place and only need a victory against the Black Bulls to advance.
NPFL: Ideye strikes again as Enyimba edge past Nasarawa United
Enyimba, currently third with five points, face a daunting trip to Egypt for their final group game, where they must not only beat Zamalek but also rely on a favourable result in the other group fixture.
What’s next?
Enyimba face a do-or-die clash against Zamalek in Egypt, needing both a win and a stroke of luck in the other Group D match to keep their Confederation Cup dreams alive. Meanwhile, Al Masry will aim to seal their qualification with a win over the Black Bulls.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for the People’s Elephant as they prepare for their most critical game of the tournament.
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Team Lineups
Enyimba
Ani Ozoemena; Innocent Gabriel, Joseph Atule, Elijah Akanni, Nweke Kalu (Fatai Abdullahi 81′); Uwana Asuquo, Somiari Alalibo (Paschal Eze 80′), Chikamso Okechukwu; Divine Ukadike, Ekene Awazie (Brown Ideye 59′), Ifeanyi Ihemekwele (Bernard Ovoke 87′).
Al Masry:
Mahmoud Gad; Ahmed Eid, Mohamed Hashem, Khaled Sobhi, Hassan Ali; Samadou (Mohamed Makhlouf 32′), Mahmoud Hamada (Youssef El Gohary 78′), Khaled El-Ghandour (Karim Bambou 78′); Mohamed El-Shami, Fakhreddine Ben Youssef (Abdelrrehim Daghmoum 61′), Salah Mohsen.
Read the original article on Premium Times.
AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 110 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.
Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.
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