Rotterdam, Sept. 5, GNA – President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged the global community to accelerate climate adaptation finance to Africa, to enable the continent respond positively to present and future climate impacts.
Climate action, he stated, “must not become another casualty of the complex geopolitical era that we are experiencing,” and “it is time to turn words into deeds, and ambition into action.”
Speaking at the Climate Adaptation Summit in Rotterdam, Netherlands on Monday, President Akufo-Addo noted that Africa contributed the least to the climate emergency, “yet we are facing increasing and more intense climate-related extreme events.”
“We are at a crossroads. If we want our continent to thrive, we have to adapt to climate change. And, to achieve this, adaptation financing needs to start flowing at scale. Climate action must not become another casualty of the complex geopolitical era that we are experiencing”.
The President observed that current geopolitical circumstances, which had seen rapid inflation rise, and put food and energy security at risk across the world, threatened the progress Africa had made in climate adaptation.
He said with the African continent facing severe climate shocks, coupled with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, many African countries are challenged in using their fiscal resources to address the climate change issue, due to the growing food society and energy challenges.
President Akufo-Addo emphasized that the current adaptation finance flows were insufficient to meet Africa’s growing needs, and global community must deliver on the Climate Pact to bridge the multibillion-dollar a year gap in adaptation finance for Africa.
He said it was imperative that adaptation investment shortfall in Africa must be met by action.
“It is time to turn words into deeds, and ambition into action. With the world in flames and under flood waters, the eyes of people everywhere will be on the decision-makers at COP27. They have to deliver if they are to escape the censure of history.”
The President was of the belief that, “financing climate adaptation, aside “making economic sense, is much more cost-effective than paying the bills every time they are due, for increasingly frequent and severe climate shocks and disasters.”
The consequence of this, he thought would mean that, “as a middle-income economy, Ghana stands to lose out to the effects of more acute and frequent climate hazards. Despite significant progress made through the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme (AAAP), on climate emergency.”
The Summit was convened by the Global Center on Adaptation, together with the African Union, African Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, Africa Adaptation Initiative, and the Climate Vulnerable Forum, to lay the foundation for an adaptation breakthrough for Africa at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), scheduled for Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, in November.
The Summit brought together global leaders from across governments, international organizations, multilateral development banks, the private sector, mayors, civil society, youth leaders, and other stakeholders to raise the ambition on adaptation action for the continent.
President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that Ghana was determined to push COP27 to deliver on its commitment to double financing towards climate adaption efforts on the continent.
“My country, Ghana, is attempting to use her own fiscal resources to address these risks. The same is true for other African countries. However, the growing food and fuel crises are limiting severely our fiscal space to respond effectively, as the cost of borrowing goes up prohibitively, and access to the capital market tightens dramatically,” he added.
The President was confident that AAAP, “with its laser focus on food security, resilient infrastructure, climate finance, and youth employment, is Africa’s solution to the multiple crises we face.
“The programme intends to mobilise some twenty-five billion dollars over five years to scale up and accelerate adaptation action. The African Development Bank has, in a truly laudable gesture, committed to providing half of this amount. This is evidence that Africa has the leadership and determination to engage in solutions to her problems”
However, President Akufo-Addo sated that “Africa needs its friends from across the world, also, to scale up their support for concrete adaptation solutions, delivered through the AAAP.”
“We expect these friends to manifest their solidarity and friendship by delivering the other half, just as we believe that the time is due for the developed countries to make good on their one hundred-billion-dollar pledge for climate adaptation.”
GNA