The Bonn Conference on Climate Change (also known as SB58) ended on 15 June 2023 at the headquarters of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Germany. This was the last chance for climate negotiators to meet before COP28 in Dubai in December. But the 10-day talks ended without any clear, concrete commitments from developed countries on the recurring problem of financing climate action in low-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
The Bonn Conference on Climate Change (also known as SB58) ended on 15 June 2023 at the headquarters of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Germany. This was the last chance for climate negotiators to meet before COP28 in Dubai in December. But the 10-day talks ended without any clear, concrete commitments from developed countries on the recurring problem of financing climate action in low-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) will be held from 30 November to 12 December 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. As is customary, delegates from around the world met in Bonn, Germany, to prepare the broad guidelines for the next COP. These guidelines appear once again to have overlooked the urgent financing needs of the countries most threatened by climate change, particularly African countries.
« According to current trends, Africa’s climate gap is around 1.3 trillion dollars for the decade 2020-2030. Unfortunately, the crucial issue of climate finance in particular did not gain much ground in the negotiations and discussions in Bonn. The failure to make solid progress in finding concrete and sustainable solutions to the ever-growing climate finance gap is particularly worrying in light of the debt crisis facing many African countries today, which is already being exacerbated by climate shocks », says John Asafu-Adjaye, Senior Researcher at the African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET).
COP28 is billed as the most important since the one that led to the Paris Agreement in 2015. This summit will see the first global stocktaking, an assessment of the progress made towards achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement. The agreement calls for richer countries to provide $100 billion in climate finance each year, as well as an additional $40 billion to help developing countries adapt to climate change. But this provision has not been respected.
All is not lost, however. On 22 and 23 June 2023, around a hundred leaders will meet in Paris, France, for the Summit on a New Financial Deal to meet the needs of around 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in emerging economies (excluding China). To achieve this, they are expected to agree on transformational changes such as tripling World Bank lending to low- and middle-income countries, which could reach $1,200 billion by 2030, and agree on the use of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) through similar banks.
Fanta Mabo
Oyéoussi Charles Balogoun is the Africa Representative of the NGO Panel under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The Civil Society Panel (CSO Panel) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) represents nearly 500 organisations accredited to the Convention. Charles Balogoun is also the Global President and Chairman of the Board of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Afrique Espérance. He answers ENVIRONNEMENTALES’s questions on the state of desertification in Africa.
What is your panel’s assessment of the advancing desert in Africa?
First of all, I would like to say a big thank you to your media organisation, which makes enormous efforts to support endogenous initiatives to combat the effects of climate change. You were with us from the start in 2020 after the Institut de la Francophonie pour le développement durable (IFDD), a subsidiary body of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), awarded us a grant for the implementation of the project « organic waste recovery to increase the income of women’s groups in the council of Zè in southern Benin ». And so to answer your question, before the COP15 UNCCD held from 9 to 20 May 2022 in Abidjan in Ivory Coast, the 2nd Review of the Global Land Outlook, Second Edition was launched. The conclusions of this report are alarming and worrying for our survival on earth. According to the experts involved in this scientific and research activity, more than 70% of the arable land is already degraded and therefore unusable and infertile; only 30% is left to feed more than 7 billion people on the globe. This state of affairs also affects the ability of our environment to absorb the influence of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, causing damage to the ozone layer and in turn reflecting the high level of global warming. Urgent and appropriate measures are therefore needed to address this. Hence the interest of the strong resolutions and recommendations of the « Abidjan Declaration ».
At the COP15 on desertification from 9 to 20 May 2022 in Ivory Coast, many delegates from the African continent wanted to see the adoption of an additional protocol on drought, inspired by the Kyoto Protocol on climate. What is your panel doing to support the adoption of such a protocol at COP16, which will take place in 2024 in Saudi Arabia?
The highlights of the UNCCD COP15 in Abidjan include planting one billion trees by 2030, restoring more than 30% of degraded land by 2030, building resilience to drought by identifying the expansion of drylands, creating an Intergovernmental Working Group on Drought for 2022-2024, improving women’s involvement in land management as stakeholders, combating sand and dust storms, and other increasing disaster risks, as well as promoting decent land-related jobs for youth and youth entrepreneurship, but also supporting their participation in the Convention process. To these various strong resolutions, the CSO Panel Africa branch in good understanding with the UNCCD CSO Panel (global) has already validated its two-year work plan. The first step is to take stock of the existing situation, i.e. the accredited organisations and what they are doing on the ground. This will allow us to have a reliable data base to make decisions and implement consequent projects. To support the adoption of such a protocol, and I must remind you that it is the « Parties » (delegates from the 195 States that have ratified the Convention, editor’s note) that have the right to vote, but the CSOs, also called « observers », can make proposals and are only taken into account if the General Assembly finds them very relevant as a proposal. This is why we are already preparing a call for contributions and ideas through a Google form to collect contributions from our peers. This long-term work will certainly result in what could be called « Africa’s contribution to the additional protocol ».
An intergovernmental working group on drought was created at COP 15. How does your panel relate to this group?
The aim is to support the work of the COP15 UNCCD presidency, whose high office is held by Donwahi Richard, and that of the Executive Secretariat led by Ibrahim Thiaw, a colleague of experts (delegates from member countries, members of the subsidiary structures of the convention, civil society, international NGOs, experts and consultants in the field of desertification and drought, and the private sector). Two civil society representatives have been nominated, one of them representing South America and the Caribbean (Ana Di Pangracio). You can see that the Panel is well represented in this important working group.
I would also like to take this opportunity to tell you about another Intergovernmental Working Group, the one on the Mid-Term Review of the UNCC Strategic Framework 2028-2030, to which I belong as Chair (or Chair of the CSO PANEL).
Given the ravages of desertification in Africa, a phenomenon that reduces food security in particular, what is your panel doing to give the UNCCD the same influence as the UNCCD?
This is a very important question because the purpose of the presence of CSOs alongside vulnerable populations at the grassroots is to help them deal with this important phenomenon. It is therefore a question of finding simple solutions to enable them to have fertile land useful for their crops and, in turn, save them from famine and ensure food security. This ranges from simple to complex and proven restoration techniques. All this is referred to as Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN).
In fact, the ultimate goal of the Convention’s long and hard work is to save our planet from the legacy of our Mother Earth, the lifeblood of everything that keeps us alive. Working tirelessly to ensure that the substance that gives it its flavour is not missing.
I would like to acknowledge in passing the support and frankness of other UN agencies that support the Convention in achieving its noble goals. These include the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and international NGOs such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
What are the projects of your panel in the fight against desertification in Africa?
It is essentially a question of listing all the good practices tried and tested on the continent in order to make a good database useful for sharing experiences through an official website dedicated to the cause. We are planning to start a series of webinars on training and capacity building of the panel’s actors on themes that we will make available very soon.
Beyond that, we are keen to organise an international African civil society forum on issues affecting the convention by the end of our mandate.
Interview by Boris Ngounou
Charles Balogoun: « Over 70% of arable land is already degraded
Oyéoussi Charles Balogoun is the Africa Representative of the NGO Panel under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The Civil Society Panel (CSO Panel) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) represents nearly 500 organisations accredited to the Convention. Charles Balogoun is also the Global President and Chairman of the Board of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Afrique Espérance. He answers ENVIRONNEMENTALES’s questions on the state of desertification in Africa.
On the side-lines of the African Peoples Counter COP which began on October 17, the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation (CAPPA) will be launching a four-country report titled Impact of Climate Change on Frontline Communities in Africa: Case study of Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, and South Africa.
The report will be unveiled at a session of the Counter COP titled Amplifying the Voices of Frontline Communities in Africa on Friday October 21, 2022, at 11am-1pm GMT.
Impacts of Climate Change in Frontline Communities in Africa documents the challenges faced by communities in Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, and South Africa and captures their vulnerability to climate change. It captures the testimonials of local community people, especially women who bear the burdens of climate change but are not part of or considered relevant in the decision-making processes to address the crisis.
The report details climate impacts on Okun Alfa community, once a leisure resort in Lagos, Nigeria which is now at the mercy of the Atlantic’s raging waters. The plight of the Okun Alfa community is exacerbated by the Eko Atlantic City real estate project promoted by the state and the $19 billion Dangote Refinery owned by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man.
In northern Cameroon, the Kakou and Ouro Garga communities struggle with climate change induced drought which has led to a decrease in agricultural yields and disruption of the agricultural calendars that existed for generations. In the two communities the cost of food has skyrocketed, forcing families to contend with poverty and malnutrition.
In Togo, the Doevi Kope community, which had rich vegetation cover forests in the 1970S is now seriously threatened by coastal erosion and coastal flooding. The impacts are worsened by the activities of Bolloré Africa Logistics, the company that is currently constructing the Port of Lomé.
Eldorado and Katlehong communities in South Africa contend with incessant exposure to drought and heat waves that is now adversely affecting farming and leaving young people unemployed, desperate, and vulnerable. The report also recommends holding Big Polluters accountable for the climate crisis as well as concrete recommendations to government, civil society, and other critical interventionist agencies.
The report was written by Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, African Centre for Advocacy, Gender CC South Africa, and Centre for Environmental Justice Togo with support from Corporate Accountability.
To participate in the launch of the report on Impacts of Climate Change in Frontline Communities in Africa, register here:
https://cappaafrica-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYkdemtqDosH9fqN7GLUviYF_8OgFmui86X
For further information
Philip Jakpor
Director of Programmes
Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa
+234 803 725 6939
New report catalogues climate impacts on African communities
On the side-lines of the African Peoples Counter COP which began on October 17, the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation (CAPPA) will be launching a four-country report titled Impact of Climate Change on Frontline Communities in Africa: Case study of Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, and South Africa.
An organisation of journalists on climate change has been launched in Cameroon. It is the Cameroon branch of the Network of African Journalists on Sustainable Development and Climate Change. Barely created, the young branch called Rjacc-Kamer is already hard at work. The aim is to publish a scientific study in preparation for the COP 27 climate conference to be held in November 2022 in Egypt.
A document to assist decision-making in the fight against climate change is being prepared in Cameroon. The initiative of the Cameroon branch of the Network of African Journalists on Sustainable Development and Climate Change (Rjacc-Kamer) aims at producing a contribution in the run-up to the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) to be held in November 2022 in Egypt.
« Africa is the continent most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. On the occasion of the COP27 scheduled on African soil, we, as journalists specialised in climate change, intend to contribute to the reflections that will be conducted during these meetings, » says Gibrile Kenfack Tsabdo, president of Rjacc-Kamer. The members of this network have given themselves four months (until the end of September 2022) to carry out and publish the results of their study on climate change in Africa and Cameroon in particular.
An Africa21 project
Rjacc-Kamer is the Cameroonian representation of the Network of African Journalists on Sustainable Development and Climate Change. This project which aims at promoting sustainable development on a large scale through the African media was launched in 2019 by Africa 21, a Swiss association working for the promotion and implementation of sustainable development, and in particular the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda.
The study announced by Rjacc-Kamer is the very first project of the young antenna, whose constitutive General Assembly was held on 2 June 2022. It is composed of 12 journalists (six of whom are women), who produce content on environmental protection on a permanent or ad hoc basis.
Fanta Mabo
CAMEROON: A network of journalists on climate change is launched
An organisation of journalists on climate change has been launched in Cameroon. It is the Cameroon branch of the Network of African Journalists on Sustainable Development and Climate Change. Barely created, the young branch called Rjacc-Kamer is already hard at work. The aim is to publish a scientific study in preparation for the COP 27 climate conference to be held in November 2022 in Egypt.
25zero is a project that involves mountaineering, monitoring equatorial glacial melt and raising awareness of the impacts of climate change. In the run-up to the 27th UN climate conference in November 2022 in Egypt, the green mountaineering project will launch an expedition in June 2022 to Mount Kilimanjaro. Africa’s highest peak is known for its summit ice cap, which has been shrinking rapidly since the beginning of the 20th century and is expected to disappear completely by 2040.
A Project 25zero expedition is planned for June 2022 on Mount Kilimanjaro in north-eastern Tanzania. The team led by British-Australian explorer Tim Jarvis is made up of his climbing partner Barry Gray, a film crew and a range of influencers and social media adventurers. They will climb the 5,895-metre summit of Africa’s highest peak to document the disappearance of its ice cap.
This is no ordinary mountaineering exercise, but rather a monitoring operation of Mount Kilimanjaro’s ice cap. 25zero is a project that documents and raises awareness about climate change through the melting of the world’s equatorial glaciers. It tells the important stories of the loss of the glaciers that are the source of life for local people, » explains Tim Jarvis.
Kilimanjaro’s ice cap shrank by 85% between 1912 and 2007
A report on the state of Africa’s climate published in October 2021 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reveals that the only three glaciers in Africa will have completely melted by 2040. These are Mount Kenya, Mount Rwenzori in Uganda and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. According to the study, Mount Kilimanjaro’s ice cover has decreased by 85% between 1912 and 2007. « This is a potential disaster for local farmers who depend on seasonal meltwater from this glacier to support their crops and livestock. This will have a major impact on the local economy and the local population, » says Tim Jarvis.
While much of the world’s public interest is focused on the melting ice at the Earth’s poles, relatively little attention is paid to glaciers in more unexpected places, such as the high altitude tropics.
For this reason, the 25zero project aims to climb the 25 equatorial mountains that had a glacier at the time of the adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992. The aim is to raise awareness of climate change on a global scale. And the Mount Kilimanjaro expedition comes about four months before the 27th UN Climate Change Conference in November 2022 in Egypt.
Fanta Mabo
TANZANIA: 25zero climbs Kilimanjaro to raise awareness of climate change
25zero is a project that involves mountaineering, monitoring equatorial glacial melt and raising awareness of the impacts of climate change. In the run-up to the 27th UN climate conference in November 2022 in Egypt, the green mountaineering project will launch an expedition in June 2022 to Mount Kilimanjaro. Africa’s highest peak is known for its summit ice cap, which has been shrinking rapidly since the beginning of the 20th century and is expected to disappear completely by 2040.