African heads want big polluters to pay up climate change pledges

President Paul Kagame arrives for the Africa Climate Summit at the KICC in Nairobi. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard] African leaders are confident about the continent's potential for renewable energy, even as they sustained calls to the world's mega-emitters to honour their financial pledges in fighting climate change. Heads of State and Government who spoke on the second day of the Africa Climate Summit said it was unjust for African nations to suffer the most from climate change yet the big polluters were doing little to help in mitigation efforts. In a united call, they urged the Global North to honour the $100 billion (Sh14.6 trillion) pledge issued in 2009. The leaders said Africa should look inwards in mobilising resources for the climate change mitigation effort. "The industrial giants are fundamentally unjust. We are here to collaborate, not to capitulate. We seek cooperation, not charity. The actions of significant polluters must pivot from mere declarations and vague commitments to actionable technology-driven reparations," said Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio. Rwanda's President Paul Kagame warned against the constant blame game that has seen the continent achieve little in support for its climate change mitigation efforts. "Africa continues to carry the burden of rising temperatures despite contributing the smallest share of global greenhouse gas emissions. We cannot just keep talking about it without doing what is required to fix the problem. This is unfair but, in the long run, playing the blame game is not the answer. A more pragmatic approach is for Africa to be a key player in the search for global climate solutions," said Kagame. Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu touted Africa as "holding the key to solving the climate challenge". "The stakes are high and actions have to take place not tomorrow, today, and literally now. As Africans, we have no choice but to seize the moment, capitalise on its potential, offer solutions to green growth and decarbonisation and while creating resilience in our communities and economies," she said. South Sudan President Salva Kiir said that the continent should not haplessly await resources that have never come, noting that the $100 billion was still a drop in the ocean and noted that Africa requires $3 trillion to combat the effects of climate change. "We have over two million people who have lost their livelihoods as a result of climate change and are in dire need of support. In the face of this reality, we cannot continue to lament about the impact of climate change and wait for the financial support that has been promised but not delivered. We must seize this opportunity given to us by this African Climate Summit to come up with additional ways to address the impact of climate change," Kiir stated, hailing the proposed transition into a low-carbon economy. On his part, Senegal President Macky Sall called for caution in transitioning to low-carbon, citing the insignificant contribution to climate change by African nations. "For those who pollute less than three per cent, the transition be abandoned. It will be an injustice to Africa," said Sall. The African leaders shared their experiences fighting climate change and its effects on their populations. They also highlighted some of their governments' policy interventions and programmes in place as they transition to renewable energy. And they would all hail the summit that seeks to have Africa speak with a united voice, a move that they say will up their stakes in climate change discussions, earning them a seat at the decision-making table. Libyan President Mohamed Younis A Menfi lauded the united approach, urging the continent to rally together. "We need to have harmonised climate initiatives to face climate change and stand against the individual interests of some industrialised counties," he stated, a message that was endorsed by his peers. "A summit to define a common African position towards the deliberations of Cop2028 in Dubai is highly commendable, especially if it can help us define how we can mobilise our own resources to address this critical issue of climate change," said Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo. "Whilst we strive to do our bit... at the national level, we expect also a lot to be done at the international level. One major issue of concern to us is the need to streamline access to international climate finance to complement national finance," he added. Ethiopia's President Sahle-Work Zewde said that African nations should now walk the talk and also seek solid solutions to climate change, noting the continent's wealth of resources. "It has been increasingly difficult to explain to our people, particularly to our youth, this contradiction: resource-rich continent and yet poor people... Our summit cannot and should not be a talk-show but a place where concrete and actionable actions are taken," she said.

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