Njenga said the
impacts of climate change are happening in a constrained fiscal environment,
where more is spent on debt servicing than on climate or health.
Africa is on the front lines of the climate crisis, losing
up to nine per cent of its GDP annually to climate impacts, while trillions of
dollars are needed to meet energy, adaptation and resilience goals.
UN Climate Change director Cecilia Njenga /HANDOUT
UN Climate Change director Cecilia Njenga has reiterated the
urgency of scaling up climate finance to support Africa’s adaptation and
resilience efforts.
“Africa is not short of ambition or solutions… We must shift
from shortfalls to delivery of finance,” Njenga said.
Speaking at the AMCEN
Ministerial Dialogue, Njenga said climate finance is not just a political
choice – it is a matter of survival, development, dignity and equity.
Njenga said the
impacts of climate change are happening in a constrained fiscal environment,
where more is spent on debt servicing than on climate or health.
Africa is on the front lines of the climate crisis, losing
up to nine per cent of its GDP annually to climate impacts, while trillions of
dollars are needed to meet energy, adaptation and resilience goals.
This challenge is compounded by a constrained fiscal
environment where, in many countries, more is spent on debt servicing than on
climate or health.
United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change is working to strengthen institutional
frameworks that can help African countries access sustainable climate finance.
At last year’s COP29 Climate Change Conference in Baku,
Azerbaijan, all nations reached an agreement on a new climate finance goal of $300
billion annually by 2030 to flow to developing countries, to be scaled up
to $1.3 trillion by 2035.
“The $300 billion
must be a floor, not a ceiling – and it must translate into predictable,
accessible finance for those who need it most,” Njenga said.
“We are working to ensure climate finance architecture
responds to African priorities.”
Njenga said there is
a need to shift from cycles of shortfalls to cycles of delivery.
AMCEN started on July
14 to 18 under the theme “Four Decades of Environmental Action in Africa:
Reflecting on the Past and Imagining the Future”.
Environment CS Deborah Barasa said the discussions around
sustainable and climate-resilient financing highlighted the urgent need for
innovative approaches and the importance of aligning national budgets to meet
climate challenges, even as global development assistance becomes uncertain.
“Together, we have forged a unified African stance ahead of
key international meetings, like the upcoming COP 30, Ramsar COP, and UNEA-7.”
