African Civil Society groups, representatives of Indigenous communities, faith groups, farmer groups, youth, and parliamentarians have expressed their disappointment at the snail-slow progress and delay tactics at the 29th round of climate negotiations (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“With just three days to the conclusion of the talks, key discussions remain stalled, leaving African nations and other developing countries frustrated by what appears to be a lack of ambition and commitment from developed nations,” said Anna Shampi, a young climate activist as she read a joint statement by different African groups.
The groups decried that discussions around the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance—a critical component that should replace the 100 billion dollar annual pledge made by developed countries during the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) in Copenhagen in 2009—remain contentious. The Copenhagen Accord expires in 2025.
African countries, among other developing countries, are calling on the developed nations to mobilize at least 1.3 trillion dollars by 2030, with some countries calling for a minimum of two trillion dollars annually, to be delivered to the needful countries, particularly for adaptation in terms of grants, and not loans.
The G77 countries have also been united in their call for 1.3 trillion dollars in grant-based finance annually to meet their rising needs. However, the activists say that throughout the negotiations,
“Consensus on the structure and timeline of the NCQG has remained elusive, with leaders from developed countries consistently appearing deceitful in the negotiation process, thereby exploring all avenues to weaken the spirit and letter of the Paris Agreement.
“Progress on almost every issue has remained formless, a disappointing venture for representatives of Africa and the Global South who arrived in Baku with a clear sense of the urgency of the problems at hand and decisions required to secure urgent closure,” said Shampi.
Martha Bekele, the Africa Lead for delivery, quality, and impact at the Development Initiatives, a global organization harnessing the power of data and evidence observed that representatives from the Global North were employing delaying tactics. “They are now focusing on human rights and vulnerable groups within the quantum of the NCOG discussions,” she said.
Dr Tinashe Gumbo, the Executive Secretary of Economic and Ecological Justice at All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) urged the Global South nations to run with the same speed they did during recent calamities that were treated as real threats to lives.
“We remember, the case of malaria, HIV and Aids, and recently the case of COVID-19 how the developed countries reacted and they saved lives, and it was because it was a matter of life and death,” said Gumbo, as a representative of faith-based organizations. “As faith actors, we also iterate that climate change is also a matter of life and death, with floods, droughts, famine, landslides, and typhoons fueled by rising sea temperatures all killing people and destroying livelihoods. We expect developed countries to move with speed to help the situation as they have done before.”
According to Dr Mithika Mwenda, the Executive Director of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), it would be disastrous to leave COP29 with a deal that will jeopardize climate negotiations in the coming rounds of negotiations.
“We would rather go without any deal than go with a bad deal. And the only deal is that of 1.3 trillion dollars grant-based finance,” he said, urging African negotiators to take a cue from other countries that were already threatening to walk out of the negotiation rooms in case of a bad deal. “Sometimes such radical decisions are the only language the countries from the global north can listen to. It has happened before, and if it becomes the only way out, so let it be.”
The activists called for meaningful progress on the Global Goal on Adaptation during the current negotiation cycle, with means of implementation, which include technology transfer, capacity building, and climate finance.
They called on all developed countries to follow in the footsteps of Sweden, tailoring their efforts to their capabilities. Sweden pledged 200 million kroner, which is equivalent to an additional 19 million dollars in the Loss and Damage funding pledge at COP29, bringing total pledged funding to more than 720 million dollars.
This week, negotiations transitioned to the political phase, spearheaded by the ministers and their representatives. However, history has it that this stage often leads to complications and unfair compromises, as politicians tend to compromise on core principles and make various deals. As a result, national interests can dilute the unified stance of the Africa Group of Negotiators (AGN). ______________________________________________________________________________________________
Isaiah Esipisu is an independent journalist and a media consultant. He is the continental Coordinator for the Pan Africa Media Alliance for Climate Change (PAMACC).