- Young activists in Africa are calling for doubling adaptation financing for climate change.
- The youths presented their demands during COP29, dubbing it the ‘six30 campaign’.
- Experts say the adaptation funds for the continent is seriously underfunded.
Yaounde – African youths have adopted “The Yaounde African call on more than doubling Adaptation Finance for a Resilient Africa,” calling for a large raise in the share of adaptation finance in the overall climate finance portfolio to match the needs and costs of adaptation for African nations. They argue that doubling adaptation finance to approximately $40 billion per year would still remain inadequate relative to the identified needs.
The call, at the end of the three-day second Youth Forum on Adaptation Finance in Africa, YOFAFA, held in the city of seven hills—Yaounde in Cameroon—comes as climate impacts rise in Africa, as the continent faces widening financial gaps for adaptation.
“We call on developed countries to increase and prioritize climate financing for energy access projects in Africa, recognizing that energy access is essential to climate resilience,” the youths also declared.
Idris Adoum from Chad, advocacy and awareness expert for the Youth for Adaptation Finance and Youth for Climate in Africa network, says, “We made the call last year; it had an appreciable impact, but it was not adopted. We have reiterated the call and added access to the energy campaign.”
Given that many youths were unable to attend COP 29 in Azerbaijan, Adoum says, “The strategy is for delegates at the Yaounde forum to approach focal points of adaptation, climate, and the country negotiators to hand them the declaration. In Chad, I will hand it to the Secretary-General of the Governor, the country’s negotiator who will participate in the delegation meetings.”
The youth’s demands were presented during COP 29.
African youths have equally adopted the energy campaign dubbed the ‘six30 campaign’, which seeks to mobilize public and private donors to substantially increase funding and investments in renewable energy projects across the continent by investing $630 billion by 2030 with a goal of providing energy to 630 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The African Coalition for Sustainable Energy and Access, ACSEA, and the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance, PACJA, are pushing the African private sector to invest in climate change adaptation, Adoum says. They are also tapping into Africa’s philanthropy, according to Adoum, who says several foundations, such as the Mo Ibrahim and the Tony Olumelu Foundations in Nigeria, have shown interest in investing in energy access.
State of Climate Adaptation Finance in Africa
Young people make their demand for an increase in the fair share of climate adaptation finance based on the commitments taken during the Paris Agreement.
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international convention on climate change adopted by in Paris, France, on December 12, 2015. The accord contains a global target for addressing the impacts of climate change. At COP26, new financial pledges were made to help developing nations achieve this target. Furthermore, new rules for international carbon trading mechanisms (“Article 6”) were established at COP26 to promote adaptation finance.
However, according to young activists and many experts, Africa faces a severe and urgent shortfall in funding for climate change adaptation, even as the costs of delayed action rise.
The United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative indicates that financing is a major barrier to climate adaptation. UNEP’s 2022 Adaptation Gap Report estimates that the annual cost of adaptation in developing countries alone will be between $160-340 billion by 2030, suggesting public budgets will be unable to address the financing challenge alone.
The Paris agreement established the world’s largest climate fund, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), to assist developing nations in achieving their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) goals toward low-emission, climate-resilient pathways.
The fund was capitalized with an initial $10 billion in 2015, and every four years since there’s been a $10 billion replenishment four years afterward. The GCF has funded 133 in developing countries to date.
Seyni Nafo, Co-Chair of the Green Climate Fund and Coordinator of the African Adaptation Initiative, says, “Africa receives about one-third of the funds but needs five times the amount, stressing that whatever Africa receives seems minimal because the demands and needs are enormous.” Nafo regrets that most resources flow through non-African entities.
Charles Mwangi, Programs and Researcher at the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance
PACJA in Kenya, says his country has received grants from GCF. However, he regrets that other needy countries are unable to access the funds. He cites the complicated procedures to access funding as one of the drawbacks.
“Only accredited entities can access GCF funding, Central Africa and many countries do not have such institutions,” Nafo regrets.
Mwangi says the Africa Adaptation Initiative strives to match countries and entities that have successfully mobilized funding with those struggling to do the same.
Nforngwa Eugene, the African Coalition for Sustainable Energy and Access ACSEA Program Manager, says Africa receives only about 14% of global climate adaptation finance, amounting to over $20 billion annually, which is insufficient. The continent requires approximately $1.1 trillion annually between 2021 and 2030 to address its needs. He says this estimate is based on national adaptation plans, project budgets, and the investments needed to develop adaptation capacity on the continent.
Renewable energy as a resilence multiplier
Experts say energy can enhance adaptive capacity and resilience in agriculture, health, education, and other sectors. That is why the Yaounde forum focused on energy.
“Renewable energy should also be considered a priority sector,” says Nforngwa. “Investments here are meant to reduce emissions, not to provide adaptive capacities to communities. With the lowest emissions from the sector, it doesn’t make sense to invest in reducing emissions in Africa when 630 million people are without access to electricity and are therefore vulnerable to the impact of climate change.”
Wind turbines, developed at the University of Dchang and installed in the Northwest and West regions of Cameroon, are an example of energy as a sparkplug for resilience.
Julius Kewir Tangka, Professor of Agricultural Engineering expert in renewable energy and coordinator of the Dschang Renewable Energy Laboratory, says people who once trekked 10 kilometers from their village to charge phones, now have the energy to light their homes, pump water and shave without worsening climate change.
“I displayed 30 to 40 prototypes to youths, encouraging them to delve into renewable energy,” Tangka says.
Dr. Godwin Oji Ojo, a political ecologist and activist for environmental justice and energy transition with ACSEA, introduced solar electricity to a Calaba town in Nigeria. This hamlet, which has been severely affected by oil pollution, now uses solar energy for homes and healthcare and to power their water pumping system, which distributes the water to key locations across the community. Ojo says this has improved local agriculture, education, and livelihoods.
“Our message to young people is that it’s time to use renewable energy technologies and develop creative business abilities. Bringing these materials into Africa is insufficient,” says Ojo.
Banner image: Second edition YOFAFA Conference in Yaounde. Image by Leocadia Bongben.
Credits
