The world as a whole demanded the global objective on adaptation at the meeting, and the new, quantifiable collective goal ought to take this fact into account. The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), in collaboration with CARE International and other partners, organised an extensive and goal-oriented forum last weekend with a focus on the adaptation needs of the African continent in order to promote the climate finance agenda and foster accountability.
Preparing for SB60 and contributing to the conclusions of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development Goals’ Tenth Session (ARFSD-10) were the forum’s principal objectives. The two-day discussion on April 17 and 18, 2024, aimed to provide guidance for the development of the New Collective and Quantified Financial Goal (NCQG) and to ascertain how to guarantee climate adaptation for Africa within the framework of the Global Goal on Adaptation.
Experts and stakeholders from a range of professions convened at the event to deliberate and resolve Africa’s most pressing climate adaption concerns. Accelerating the path towards COP 29, enhancing accountability and transparency in climate finance, and leveraging partnerships to generate capital for climate adaptation in Africa were among the main topics that dominated the discussions.
The suggestions made by the forum are expected to impact the NCQG’s design and further broader global initiatives to tackle climate change. The outcomes of the meeting will also be vital in advancing Africa’s agenda for climate adaptation and ensuring that the continent’s unique needs and preferences are sufficiently taken into account in global climate negotiations. Panellists at the meeting stated that the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) aims to increase adaptive ability, increase resilience, and decrease susceptibility to climate change. Article 7 of the Paris Agreement established it.
The forum acknowledges that adaptation is a multifaceted worldwide challenge, with a focus on safeguarding people, livelihoods, and ecosystems through long-term global responses to climate change. Additionally, the forum is continuing to work towards the Global Goal on Adaptation of the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience. Additionally, it considers the immediate needs of front-line communities, indigenous people, and developing country parties, all of whom are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change.
Concerned that developed countries have not committed to giving developing countries enough, predictable, timely, and needs-based financial support to accelerate the implementation of adaptation programmes, despite the Paris Agreement’s core principles of equity and shared but distinct responsibilities and capabilities.
According to the Adaptation Gap Report 2023, which was reviewed during the Addis summit, just 26 African countries have National Adaptation Plans, suggesting that adaptation is underfunded and that countries are ill-prepared. concerned by the absence of noteworthy advancement in the UNFCCC negotiations and the glacial pace of national NAP development and execution, especially in relation to the vital financial concerns that are essential to their execution.
The panellists shared their opinions that there is not enough urgency in addressing pressing issues on the continent, and that the climate crisis still poses a serious threat to Africa’s development and the welfare of its people. deeply concerned that African nations are not benefiting from direct or indirect access to climate finance and that the process is convoluted and drawn out by bureaucratic, highly technical procedures that deter community institutions from obtaining it. deeply concerned about the ongoing double counting of official development assistance (ODA) as climate finance and Norway’s proposal to increase the same given the lack of urgency in defining climate finance.
The forum noted that the guiding principle from COP28, which emphasises fairness and equity, calls on parties to jointly align with just and equitable pathways towards achieving 1.5C without going over the Paris Agreement’s Purpose in Article 2.1. This is relevant in the context of sustainable development and the eradication of poverty. It also asks for stepping up efforts to combat climate change on a worldwide scale. It is crucial to adopt the CBDR-RC principle while developing indicators to ensure fairness and justice in access to implementation techniques, since the UAE Belem Work Programme must acknowledge that there are discrepancies in the effects of climate change. Conscious of the budgetary barriers impeding the development of comprehensive and adaptable national and regional frameworks to addressto climate changeand its potential ramifications in framing the GGA indicators and targets in Africancountries.