At this year's African Union Summit held in Addis Ababa on February 17-18, African leaders adopted the Nairobi Declaration on Climate Change, a powerful statement of solidarity in the face of real threats to Africa. did.
Droughts and floods alternate, with crops dying or being washed away and livestock dying in large numbers. Hunger is widespread across the continent. Last year, Oxfam estimated that in East Africa alone, 13 million animals worth $7.4 billion and hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops were lost, leaving millions of people without income or food. Our water engineer warned us that one in five wells he is currently drilling in East Africa is either dry or has standing water that is unfit for drinking without treatment. All too often, deeper, more expensive and difficult to maintain boreholes must be drilled, only to find dry, depleted or contaminated reservoirs.
In the face of the threat of climate change, the solidarity of African countries is increasingly evident at the negotiating table and is commendable. The effort to create an annual African Climate Week, along with the involvement of the African Ministers on the Environment (AMCEN), is commendable. ) and the COP African Negotiators Group, both under the leadership of the Committee of Heads of State and Governments on Climate Change (CAHOSCC), will build a robust mechanism with the Nairobi Declaration as the basis for a common African position. To defend the interests of Africans.
Assessment of the Nairobi Declaration is strikingly aligned with civil society perspectives, particularly regarding Africa's historical contribution to global warming being minimal compared to the heavy burden of impacts affecting lives, livelihoods and economies. We are doing so. It is positive that this declaration recognizes the important role of local communities in combating climate change. But we need to ensure these communities have the resources and protection they need to cope with the impacts of climate change.
And this is precisely where the Nairobi Declaration is lacking.
African countries are working to implement policies, regulations and incentives aimed at attracting local, regional and global investment in 'green growth'. The lack of clarity on what qualifies as “green growth” opens the door to countless solutions that prioritize profits over people. For example, companies can buy vast tracts of land to offset their carbon footprint overseas and continue pumping oil and gas, which has a negative impact on small farmers and their environment, which is sad. This is a widespread reality in Africa and other parts of the world.
Calling on rich countries to honor their commitments and increase climate finance is important, but the quality of the finance provided needs to be considered. Although donors claim to have mobilized $83.3 billion in 2020, Oxfam calculated that the actual value of their spending was up to $24.5 billion. This $83.3 billion is overestimated because it includes projects with overestimated climate targets and loans valued at face value. By providing loans rather than grants, these funds increase the debt burden of already heavily indebted countries and may even be more harmful than helpful to local communities.
Furthermore, the civil society organizations we work with often point to a lack of access and participation in existing climate finance mechanisms. In 2022, Oxfam found that only 0.8% of organizations with direct access to international climate finance in the West Africa/Sahel region could be identified as 'local'. There continues to be a lack of transparency in contributor reporting on the extent to which climate finance reaches the local level and involves community participation processes, and this needs to change. We need to create small grants that are accessible to local people and easy to administer.
The Nairobi Declaration does not comprehensively address the multidimensional challenges faced by women. This is tricky. When food is scarce, women eat less and are often the last. And because girls are the first to be removed from school at an early age or to be married off, they have one less mouth to feed. Many people have to walk additional miles with their children in the hot sun to fill their jerry cans, exposing them to safety hazards. Resource stress exacerbates gender-based violence. A study on domestic violence in East Africa found that as women's wealth increased, the prevalence of domestic violence decreased. This is likely due to a decrease in resource-related conflicts.
The declaration calls on world leaders to create a carbon tax on transportation. But without appropriate mitigation strategies, a global carbon tax could disproportionately impact the most vulnerable and further increase the cost of food, medicine, and other essentials.
What we need is investment to adapt to climate change and truly help people grow food. IFAD reports that there are an estimated 33 million small farms in Africa, producing about 70 percent of Africa's food supply. Yet, according to FAO, 90 percent of people living in poverty in sub-Saharan Africa live in rural areas.
We also need to invest in water and sanitation systems that provide people with clean water and sanitation. In southern Africa, only 61 percent of the population in SADC countries has access to potable water and only two in five people have access to adequate sanitation. This has undoubtedly accelerated the recent cholera epidemic in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, where thousands of new cases and hundreds of deaths have been recorded since January.
Africa is at a decisive crossroads. By resisting the stopgap solutions and deadly traps offered by the market, and by putting people at the center of climate action, our leaders are building a path to inclusive growth and social prosperity. We have a great opportunity to take decisive steps towards Agenda 2063's goal of “Africa''. “Sustainable Development”. By championing fair access to resources and opportunities, we can build a continent where all individuals not only survive, but thrive in harmony with the natural world.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of Al Jazeera.
