African countries need $87bln annually for climate adaptation programmes: African official

Dr. Linus Mofor, Senior Environmental Affairs Officer – Energy, Infrastructure and Climate Change, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said that African countries have Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that require nearly US$3 trillion to implement, stressing that estimates confirm the need for about US$87 billion annually for adaptation programmes alone. On the African continent, it receives only about US$30 billion.

The African official added in a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on the sidelines of the COP28 Global Climate Action Summit in Dubai, that the percentage of carbon emissions emitted by African countries does not exceed 4 percent, but they suffer the most from the effects of climate change, explaining that they lose on average 5 percent of the gross domestic product annually due to the effects of climate change, and 15 percent of the gross domestic product in some cases.

Dr. Linus Mofor praised the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund at the COP28, considering it a ‘’positive step” towards advancing pledges on climate action.

On the issue of obtaining electricity, he said that Africa constitutes 80 percent of the 733 million people who do not have access to electricity and 40 percent of people do not have access to clean cooking, praising the agreement of 118 countries, including African countries, to pledge to triple renewable energy capabilities and double improvements. Energy efficiency.

To make a tangible difference in bridging the deficit in access to energy in Africa, Mofor stressed that Africa needs at least US$500 billion for renewable energy capabilities by 2030, and US$2 trillion by 2050, calling on governments to give the private sector the opportunity to play a major role. In its packaging.

He pointed to the many initiatives and projects on the African continent in the field of green hydrogen production and emissions reduction initiatives, stressing that COP28 provided many successes.​

SOURCE: ZAWYA