COP29: African ministers express concern over climate finance

As the ongoing United Nations Climate Conference (COP29) nears its scheduled end on Friday, African ministers have emphasised the need to reach an equitable and fair financial deal.

The Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Sierra Leone, together with his peers from Nigeria, The Gambia, Zambia, and Angola, held a press conference at the Baku climate talks to voice their concerns about the low drive quantum of finance, quality of finance, and the contributor base.

Balarabe Abbas Lawal, Environment Minister, Nigeria: “Developed countries are built on the back of pollution over centuries. Our people have been providing subsidies for centuries and this has come at the cost of our lives and our livelihoods. This should come in the form of public finance.

“The finance issue is becoming a mirage — the more we talk about it the more it disappears.”

Jiwoh Abdulai, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Sierra Leone said: “African countries are losing an average of 2-5% of GDP responding to climate extremes, according to the WMO. The cost of adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated at $30-50 billion a year – 2-3% of the region’s GDP – over the next few years, according to the WMO.

“These numbers are not abstract. They affect us daily. Our people are paying with their lives. Global warming is real for our countries, and our economies. It’s clear who’s responsible for this problem – developed countries. And the science is pretty clear how much it is going to cost.

“Don’t use the word ‘donor’. That implies charity. There is a climate debt that needs to be paid.”

Mike Elton Mposha, Minister, Green Economy and Environment, Zambia said: “We can’t have those that have the least contribution to the problem being the ones depleting their resources in the fight and against the problem that they least caused. We want to see finances that will go towards saving our countries, that will go towards the actual fight against climate change, so that we don’t continue using our limited resources from developing our countries to fighting climate change, an issue or problem that has been caused, like others have said, from elsewhere.
“We expect that COP29 will not come to a close without clear actions around finance.”

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