COP27: Africa will prioritize its development, growth aspirations - Ambassador of Egypt

Egyptian Ambassador to Nigeria, Ihab Awab, in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, said Africa will prioritize its development and growth aspirations at the upcoming UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, otherwise known as COP27.

COP27 is scheduled to take place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from November 6-18. He will inaugurate the Egyptian Presidency of the COP, succeeding the United Kingdom.

According to Mr. Awab, Africa is a developing continent that contributes the least (three%) to global carbon emissions and should not bear the same burden as the continents that contribute the most.

"...given that we as a continent are not the major contributor, we should not make any additional commitments on ourselves that might stifle or impede our development aspirations," a- he said.

Africa is among the most affected by the effects of climate change in the world today, exacerbated by existing infrastructure deficits.

A report by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, a think tank on public governance in Africa, found that around 40 million more people in sub-Saharan Africa could be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030 due to climate change. climate.

The report highlights that between 2010 and 2022, the number of people affected by drought amounted to at least 172.3 million and those affected by floods amounted to at least 43.0 million.< /p>

He said that the ten most climate-vulnerable countries in the world are in Africa.

Mr. Awab noted that the conference would create an avenue to bring Africa's voice to the forefront of discussions on what can be done to address the impact of climate change, particularly because "the whole narrative around climate change was developed outside of Africa."

"Africa's voice needs to be very clear that we are all in this together and that it is essential that there is a joint effort to tackle climate change. But at the same time , we have our development aspirations and I believe that the Egyptian presidency in its pre-COP consultations in Africa and with the rest of the world has been very clear on this,” the Ambassador added.

Egypt sees COP27 as the implementation conference, he said. Many promises made at previous conferences to support developing countries, particularly in Africa, have yet to materialize.

“The funding aspect of some of the projects is a key priority for the future Egyptian Presidency of COP27 and it is something that all African countries agree that COP27 should and must actually result in practical actions. .. There are competing priorities for funding all over the world.

"If we are serious about tackling climate change and equally serious about achieving the SDGs, then this is the conference and this is the kind of discussion that needs to take place in Sharm el-Sheikh."

Experts from the African Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have said African countries need to mobilize $1.6 trillion over the next seven years to meet their Nationally Determined Contribution commitments ( CDN) in order to resist the effects of climate change.

So far, the continent has only received $18.3 billion a year, leaving a financing gap of $108 billion. With this, experts say, the continent may never reach its NDCs.

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Talking about the role of the media, especially the media in Africa, Mr. Awab said the media plays a major role in highlighting the accountability dimension of what can be achieved, be it in Sharm el-Sheikh or in subsequent lectures.

"I think that's where the media can be able to highlight the end of poverty, the fight against climate change and how they shouldn't be in conflict and what that really means for human commitments."

He added that Egypt is working with major economies in Africa to mobilize and synergize efforts.

"It is very important that countries like Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Senegal, Morocco, Algeria and many large African economies are able to really mobilize within their sub-regions but also to be able to speak with one and the same to be very vocal about Arica's priorities,” Mr. Awab said.

Chiamaka Okafor is a journalist at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which connects local newsrooms with...