By Jean-Pierre A.
African non-state actors are alarmed at little progress on the means of implementation of the GGA (the Global Goal on Adaptation) discussion and pressure to force through half-baked indicators, the group said in a news release published on 17 November.
Knowing that, without means of implementation, indicators are useless, we call on African negotiators to resist anything short of a decision that reflects the scale and urgency of adaptation in Africa, said the African non-state actors.
“Africans came to Belem in Brazil with one hope – to secure the means for implementation of adaptation programs, precisely climate finance for implementation of the Global Goal on Adaptation. Unfortunately, in the current state, securing the much-needed climate finance for adaptation is not only a distant away, but a mirage!”
According to the non-state actors, in the current state of talks, what is happening at the Cop 30 see are machinations by developed country parties to rewrite the Paris Agreement by shifting obligations for the implementation of the adaptation agenda to those least responsible for the climate crisis, and those with the least capability to finance adaptation.
The Group claims, the Paris Agreement principle on Common but Differentiated Responsibilities based on Respective Capabilities is being thrown to the dogs, and in its place, Africa is being requested to demonstrate its contribution towards funding adaptation.
“We are disturbed by a number of indicators that are hellbent on rewriting the Paris Agreement and shifting the responsibility of financing the implementation of the convention to African countries, which are already debt-stricken,”
Indicators such as “proportion of government budget allocated to climate adaptation and resilience” and “annual adaptation finance expenditure” effectively transfer the burden of financing adaptation to developing countries, said African Non-state actors.
The Group insists that financing adaptation cannot be optional; it is not charity, and therefore, it is mere rhetoric to discuss indicators of GGA, without the requisite means of implementation.
“As the negotiations enter the second and final week, there are no indicators on finance yet on the table,” said the group
The indicator list on means of implementation is yet to be finalized. This is a worrisome state because parties have no basis for negotiation on the most crucial ingredient for the delivery of the GGA, the continent’s non-state actors added.
“Whereas the call for ambitious GGA has been normalised, we assert that there cannot be ambition on action without corresponding ambitious support. We cannot strive to measure the results of an action that is not funded.’
