Climate activists want finance pledges honored as COP27 kicks off tomorrow

Civil Society Organisations in Africa have appealed to delegates at the 27th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in Sharma El Sheikh, Egypt, to prioritise issues of financing adaptation; loss and damage, honour of climate finance pledges, participation and inclusion which are pertinent for a successful COP27. 

In 2009, at COP15 held in Copenhagen, Denmark, developed countries committed to a collective goal of mobilizing USD 100 billion per year by 2020 for climate action in developing countries, in the context of meaningful actions to mitigate the effects of climate change and to foster transparency on implementation of those actions. The pledge is yet to be honoured. 

Now, the CSOs, coalescing under the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, issued the demands a day ahead of the official opening of the Climate Summit meeting. In addition, they want efforts that will advance just transitions, and technology transfer receive prominence at COP27. 
The position by the African CSOs is set to be handed over to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC Secretariat) and Parties from the West. Dr Mithika Mwenda, the executive director of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), says the seriousness with which African issues are handed will determine the success of the Summit. 
 “We have outlined our expectations. It is up to the delegates to decide on the nature this COP should take. But as Africans, the issues we have highlighted and placed before the UNFCCC Secretariat will mean success or failure of this Climate Summit,” he says.  

Ephraim Shitima, the chairperson of Africa Group of Negotiators, says his group is well briefed from its interaction with the CSOs about the African agenda at COP27. 
“After several meetings in Zambia, Ethiopia and Egypt, Africans are now speaking with one voice. We need recognition that Africa is a continent with special needs and circumstances. We need financing of adaptation to climate change and loss and damage,” he says. 
The issues at stake in COP 27 include the honouring of climate finance pledges worth USD 100 billion per year, made in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2009 by the G20 (most developed countries). 

“Only by the developed honoring climate financing will countries in Africa be able to implement the national determined contributions plans which runs into billions of dollars beyond the capacities of most of our governments,” Shitima says.