{"id":205369,"date":"2021-10-17T18:36:58","date_gmt":"2021-10-17T16:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/cop26-africas-challenges-must-steer-the-climate-change-conference\/"},"modified":"2021-10-17T18:36:58","modified_gmt":"2021-10-17T16:36:58","slug":"cop26-africas-challenges-must-steer-the-climate-change-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/cop26-africas-challenges-must-steer-the-climate-change-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"COP26: Africa’s challenges must steer the climate change conference"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The 26th session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties, popularly known as COP26, is happening at a time when the world has just experienced<\/a> one of the warmest years on record. The year 2020 reached temperatures that were about 1.02\u00b0C warmer than average. These kinds of extremes, driven by climate change, are being felt intensely across Africa. <\/p>\n

Greenhouse gases \u2013 such as carbon dioxide and methane \u2013 are largely to blame for the changes to the climate. Some of the sun\u2019s energy is reflected back to space and is trapped<\/a> by these gases leading to a warming of the earth. Increased concentrations of these gases in our atmosphere leads to global warming and consequently climate climate.<\/p>\n

Africa carries the heaviest<\/a> burden of the associated climate change effects, despite contributing less than 5%<\/a> of the world\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions. Industrialised countries \u2013 namely<\/a> China, the US, India, Russia and Japan \u2013 top the list in the emission of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n

Africa is the most vulnerable continent<\/a> to the effects of climate change due to its low adaptive capacity, as a result of financial and technological limitations, and an over-reliance on rain-fed agriculture. The continent is also witnessing a higher rate<\/a> of warming than the global average of 0.15\u00b0C per decade between 1951 and 2020. Given the observed global warming, it is projected that the continent will experience an increase in hot extremes<\/a> and more frequent and intense rainfall extremes<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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Read more: Insights for African countries from the latest climate change projections<\/a> <\/strong> <\/em>\n<\/p>\n

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The projected changes in climate are likely to cause devastating impacts across the continent. The current case of food insecurity as a result of drought in East Africa<\/a> is a case in point. <\/p>\n

The International Monetary Fund (IMF)<\/a> estimates that sub-Saharan Africa has loses of over US$520 million in direct economic damages annually as a result of climate change since the beginning of this century. The cost of implementing the continent\u2019s response to the challenges posed by climate change is estimated at between US$7 billion and US$15 billion<\/a> annually. This is projected to shoot to US$35 billion per year by 2050. Consider this, by 2050 climate change is projected<\/a> to cost Africa 4.7% of its GDP while North America will lose 1.1% of its GDP.<\/p>\n

African countries cannot be ignored, or just listened to. Their needs should shape the agenda. There must be action that immediately addresses the challenges facing the continent. <\/p>\n

How can the world come to recognise the magnitude of all this? COP26 provides that platform. <\/p>\n

Revisiting the Paris Agreement<\/h2>\n

The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.<\/p>\n

The Paris Agreement<\/a>, created in 2015, aims to limit global warming to well below 2\u00b0C, preferably to 1.5\u00b0C, compared to pre-industrial levels. Essentially, the agreement brought all countries together in a common effort to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.<\/p>\n

The agreement provides a framework for financial and technical support to countries who need it. It also obliges<\/a> developed countries to support developing countries in their mitigation and adaptation efforts \u2013 because they are largely responsible for the losses and costs associated with climate change.<\/p>\n

The developed nations promised to raise US$100 billion a year to support climate change adaptation and mitigation in vulnerable countries. However, reports show<\/a> that this pledge has fallen short by at least US$20 billion since 2018. Unfortunately, there are no clear plans provided by the \u201crich\u201d nations on how this deficit will be met. This is the time to hold them accountable.<\/p>\n

COP26 platform<\/h2>\n

At COP26, countries will launch an adaptation goal and adopt strategies for achieving such a goal. This presents African countries with the opportunity to shape the agenda, once more. <\/p>\n

Leaders of African countries should approach the convention with a strong, unified voice, presenting their climate change concerns and needs. <\/p>\n

The negotiation outcomes at COP26 must succeed in favour of Africa and other developing countries by:<\/p>\n