AFRICAN COUNTRIES are calling for an end to a “climate injustice” at a major conference taking place this week.

More than one thousand government officials, international organisations, NGOs and the private sector from over 50 nations are attending Africa Climate Week 2022 in Gabon’s capital Libreville.

The high-level event aimed at achieving collaboration in tackling climate change as it intensifies throughout the continent comes before the COP27 United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Egypt, in November.

In recent years concerns have been growing about the fact that Africa less than four per cent of global CO2 emissions but is among the regions most severely affected by global warming.

At the inaugural ceremony, Gabon’s President, Ali Bongo Ondimba, was joined by ministers and officials from key UN and global organizations.

In a speech criticising the global failure to meet climate targets he said  the continent had to speak with a united voice and offer concrete proposals for the forthcoming COP27.

“The time has come for Africans to take our destiny into our own hands,” he said. “Our continent is blessed with all the necessary assets for sustainable prosperity, abundant natural resources… and the world’s youngest and largest working population. But Africa and the rest of the world must address climate change.”

Ondimba continued: “Droughts are causing extreme famines and displacing millions of people across the continent.

“Today, 22 million people in the Horn of Africa face starvation because of the drought and famine, countries in the south of the continent are regularly hit by cyclones, rising sea levels threaten cities such as Dakar, Lagos, Capetown and Libreville.”

Risk

Even though Africa has historically contributed the least to hydrocarbon emissions, up to 118 million of the continent’s poorest people could be at risk from severe drought, large floods, and extreme heat by the year 2030 due to climate change.

The 2015 Paris climate treaty highlighted the fact that since the Industrial Revolution, affluent nations in Europe and North America have contributed to the current climate emergency by burning vast amounts of fossil fuels.

Ethiopia, Somalia, and some areas of Kenya have all been hit hard by severe drought in recent years and the effects continue to worsen.

Hunger

After a famine killed hundreds of thousands of people in Somalia a decade ago, the country is at risk of experiencing another catastrophe. Between 2010 and 2012, almost 250,000 people died from hunger with half of those being children.

It’s estimated that over 80 million people in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda are facing food insecurity.

“In Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, we are on the brink of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” said Guleid Artan, director of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Climate Prediction and Applications Centre.

A decade ago, developed countries committed to helping poorer nations adapt to the effects of climate change and transition to green energy by donating $100 billion annually.

According to the International Energy Agency, 48 African countries have asked for around $1.2 trillion in international financial support by 2030 to put into effect their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to reduce emissions and temperature rises.

However, only a small portion of this sum has been released so far because wealthy nations have not contributed the whole $100 billion year they had promised.

Future

Many African leaders, and those of other developing nations, are hesitant to reduce fossil fuel use until they are provided with funding and guarantees for climate adaption measures and renewable energy development.

Ondimba said: “In less than three months, the UN Climate Change conference will take place in Sharm el- Sheikh, Egypt. COP27 is described as Africa’s COP and will significantly shape our future. As one of the last major climate events before COP27, Africa Climate Week can bring us together to walk down the road to COP27 with unity of purpose and resolve for a better future. I urge you to take this opportunity to work on innovative, concrete and sustainable solutions and give African nations the means to fight climate change successfully.”