- African Leaders Call for Global Tax on Polluting Industries
- Demand for Reforms in the Global Financial System
- Emphasis on African Climate Solutions and Financing at COP28
Instead of portraying Africa as a continent struggling with climate impacts, leaders sought to portray it as a continent wealthy in solutions.
Leaders of African nations required to pay for expensive climate measures have called for a new global tax on polluting industries like fossil fuels, shipping, and aviation to help raise funds.
The proposal is the culmination of the first-ever African Climate Summit, which took place in Kenya and was attended by leaders from the continent’s 1,3 billion inhabitants – a number that will double by 2050.
The Nairobi Declaration said the funds would provide “dedicated, affordable, and accessible financing for climate-positive investments at scale” and protect them from domestic interests.
Leaders also called for a reform of the global financial system, which makes it significantly more expensive for African nations to borrow money than for European nations like the United Kingdom.
This can make it much more difficult to fund projects such as wind and solar farms, which the continent requires to build a future with cleaner energy.
To dispel the notion that the continent bears the burden of floods, droughts, and other climate change impacts, the Nairobi meeting highlighted how African nations can combat the climate crisis – particularly by increasing their use of renewable energy.
The Nairobi Declaration states that “no country should ever have to choose between its development objectives and climate action.”
The leaders urged other nations to support their plans, which will be a pillar of their negotiating position at the impending COP28 climate talks in Dubai in December.
Individual states or alliances offer various actions, such as funding projects or abandoning coal, in exchange for others doing the same during climate change negotiations.
An notion formerly considered unlikely gained universal acceptance at last year’s COP27 in Egypt, resulting in a “monumental victory” for developing nations.
After years of campaigning by developing nations, leaders at COP27 agreed to establish a fund to compensate for climate-related losses and damages, with contributions from wealthier, more polluting nations.
However, the fund’s size and contributors are unknown.
Frequent financing shortages have slowed the shift to a cleaner future in weak nations, including much of Africa.
Not only is it necessary to invest in the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy, but also in the mining and refining of minerals.
Poorer countries tend to have contributed the least to climate change, and research last year by thinktank IIED found they are more likely to suffer severe impacts from it.
Africa is responsible for approximately 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, whereas the European Union, with less than half the population, is responsible for 13%.
The three-day Africa Climate Summit in Kenya ended with the Nairobi Declaration, which focused on mobilising funds to combat extreme weather, conserve natural resources, and develop renewable energy.
The final document was replete with demands that major polluters devote more resources to aiding poorer nations and make it simpler for them to borrow at reasonable rates.
It urged world leaders to “unite behind the proposal for a global carbon taxation regime, including a carbon tax on fossil fuel trade, maritime transport, and aviation, which could be supplemented by a global financial transaction tax.”
