Activists at Bonn accuse developed countries of frustrating the process on climate finance. Pictured here are Danni Taaffe, Head of Communications at Climate Action Network (CAN), Mohamed Adow of Power Shift Africa and Sven Harmeling, Head of Climate at CAN. Credit: Isaiah Esipisu/IPS

By Isaiah Esipisu
BONN, Jun 13 2024 (IPS)

As the technical session of the global climate negotiations enters the final stretch in Bonn, Germany, climate activists from Africa have expressed fears that negotiators from the developed world are dragging their feet in a way to avoid paying their fair share to tackle the climate crisis.

“I think we will be unfair to the snail if we say that the Bonn talks have all along moved at a snail pace,” quipped Mohammed Adow, the Director, Power Shift Africa.

“Ideally, there will be no climate action anywhere without climate finance. Yet what we have seen is that developed countries are frustrating the process, blocking the UAE annual dialogues, which were agreed upon last year in Dubai, to focus on the delivery of finance so as to give confidence to developing countries to implement climate actions,” said Adow.

According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) dialogue was created to focus on climate finance in relation to implementing the first Global Stoke Take (GST-1) outcomes, with the rationale of serving as a follow up mechanism dedicated to climate finance, ensuring response to and/or monitoring of, as may be appropriate and necessary, all climate finance items under the GST

The two-week Bonn technical session of Subsidiary Bodies (SB60) was expected to develop an infrastructure for the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), a climate change funding mechanism to raise the floor of climate finance for developing countries above the current $100 billion annual target.

In 2009, during the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) of the UNFCCC in Copenhagen, developed countries agreed that by 2020, they would collectively mobilize $100 billion per year to support priorities for developing countries in terms of adaptation to climate crisis, loss and damage, just energy transition and climate change mitigation.

When parties endorsed the Paris Agreement at COP 21 in 2015, they found it wise to set up the NCQG, which has to be implemented at the forthcoming COP 29, whose agenda has to be set at the SB60 in Bonn, providing scientific and technological advice, thereby shaping negotiations in Azerbaijan.

However, activists feel that the agenda being set in Bonn is likely to undermine key outcomes of previous negotiations, especially on climate finance.

“We came to Bonn with renewed hope that the NCQG discussions will be honest and frank with all parties committed to seeing that the finance mechanism will be based on the priorities and needs of developing countries and support country-driven strategies, with a focus on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs),” said Memory Zonde-Kachambwa, the Executive Director, FEMNET.

“Seeing the devastation climate change is causing in our countries in terms of floods, storms, and droughts, among other calamities, it was our hope that the rich countries would be eager and willing to indicate the Quantum as per Article 9.5 of the Paris Agreement so as to allow developing countries to plan their climate action,” she said.

So far, negotiators from the North have been pushing for collective “mobilization of financial resources,” which African activists believe is merely the privatization of climate finance within NCQG, thus surrendering poor countries to climate-debt speculators and further impoverishing countries clutching onto debt.

Also in the spotlight was the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), where the activists feel that the means of implementation is being vehemently fought by the parties from developed countries.

“Adaptation must be funded from public resources and must not be seen as a business opportunity open to private sector players,” said Dr. Augustine Njamnshi, an environmental policy and governance law expert and the Executive Secretary of the African Coalition for Sustainable Energy and Access. “Without clear indications on the means of implementation, GGA is an empty shell and it is not fit-for-purpose.”

According to Ambassador Ali Mohammed, the incoming Chair for the African Group of Negotiators (AGN), the SB60 is an opportunity to rebuild trust in the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

“That trust can only be rebuilt if we come out of Bonn with a quantum that adequately covers the needs of the continent,” he said, noting that the figure Africa is asking for, which is to be part of the agenda for COP29, is USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2030.

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Community Health Assistants from Kenya. Credit: Friday Phiri/Amref

By Friday Phiri
BONN, Jun 11 2024 (IPS)

There is a rapid realization that climate change is impacting health, which is why the recently adopted World Health Organization’s Climate Change and Health Resolution is considered pivotal.

“Knowing that some of the difficulties we are currently facing are a result of climate change is assisting us in understanding which diseases are prevalent when it’s dry or during heavy rains. That way, we can increase awareness of which of the diseases that commonly occur in Mandera, especially malaria, dengue fever, and cholera, are likely to spread depending on the season,” are the sentiments of health assistants only identified as Nasra, Salima, Samlina and Ubah.

They are among over 100 Community Health Assistants (CHAs) from Mandera County in Kenya who are part of on-going country-wide training by Amref Health Africa to build capacity on essential skills to tackle health challenges.

This exemplifies the different layers of challenges that climate change creates for the health sector, not only altering disease spread and patterns but also complicating service delivery.

African Group of Negotiators Chair Ali Mohamed of Kenya during the SB60 opening session.

It is for this reason that at the just-ended 77th World Health Assembly (WHA 77) in Geneva, Switzerland, the 194 member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted a historic resolution on Climate Change and Health.

The landmark decision marks a pivotal step in the global endeavor to protect communities from the diverse negative health impacts driven by climate change, as well as calling on the health sector to decarbonize.

The escalating climate crisis is a major driver of poor health outcomes, threatening to reverse five decades of progress in development, global health, and poverty reduction while exacerbating existing health disparities both between and within populations. The associated health damage costs are estimated to range between USD 2-4 billion annually by 2030. Regions with fragile health infrastructures, particularly in developing countries, will face the greatest challenges in coping without substantial assistance to bolster their preparedness and response capabilities.

“The movement to position health as ‘the human face of climate change’ has gained significant momentum with the adoption of this resolution, and I am profoundly optimistic about its transformative potential,” said Dr. Githinji Gitahi, Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Amref Health Africa and the COP28 Climate and Health Envoy for Africa.

“This marks a pivotal moment where global leaders have formally acknowledged the urgent need to address the intertwined crises of environmental and public health with a unified, collaborative approach.”

However, there is still some work to be undertaken, as health is not yet part of the mainstream agenda of climate negotiations at the global level. The health community has the daunting task of navigating its way into the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) processes for a comprehensive global agenda on climate and health.

It is worth noting, however, that there have been efforts at the global and regional levels, such as at COP26 in Glasgow, where the health community reached an important milestone in bringing human health to the forefront of climate change work, with initiatives to support countries in developing climate-resilient and low-carbon sustainable health systems.

At COP28, the Climate and Health Declaration articulated similar commitments, including pledges of financial support to the sector in support of climate and health actions.

At the 60th session of the UN Climate Change Subsidiary Bodies (SB60) in Bonn, Germany, the African constituency is seeking ways to actively engage in the discourse and ensure that Africa’s interests in relation to the impacts of climate change on health are well noted.

Amref Health Africa Director of Population Health and Environment, Dr. Martin Muchangi.

During the preparatory meeting of the African Group of Negotiators prior to the SB60, AGN outgoing Chair, Zambia, raised the climate and health agenda and encouraged negotiators to take keen interest and actively engage in the climate and health discourse to set Africa’s agenda, particularly in the Global Goal on Adaptation’s UAE-Belem work programme on indicators where health is one of the thematic targets.

“A crucial point for us to ponder under the UAE-Belem work programme is the inclusion of health as one of the thematic targets. Instead of waiting for this agenda to be set by others, we should, as a group, be actively involved. The work programme offers a window for us to input in terms of how health should be mainstreamed into climate negotiations. As AGN, we have the AAI, which stands out as a shining example of our capacity to set our own agenda in these processes,” said Dr. Alick Muvundika, representing Zambia, as outgoing Chair of the AGN.

Paragraph 9(c) of the GGA decision at COP28 urges Parties and invites non-Party stakeholders to pursue the objectives of the GGA and increase ambition and enhance adaptation action and support in order to accelerate swift action at scale and at all levels, from local to global, in alignment with other global frameworks, towards; attaining resilience against climate change-related health impacts, promoting climate-resilient health services, and significantly reducing climate-related morbidity and mortality, particularly in the most vulnerable communities.

In view of the decision, the health sector in Africa, led by Amref Health Africa and partners, is leading efforts in support of Africa’s active engagement in the UAE-Belem Work programme on indicators for the GGA framework, as well as general technical support for mainstreaming health in climate policies and plans.

During a meeting of African Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) with AGN Chair at the on-going SB60, Amref Health Africa Director for Population Health and Environment, Martin Muchangi, said climate change is complicating health interventions and delivery, adding that “the visible impacts highlight that health is the human face of climate change.”

Muchangi briefed the AGN Chair on Amref’s availability and readiness to support the group to ensure that the yet-to-be developed indicators and related metrics of the health thematic target in the GGA framework would be in line with Africa’s aspirations in view of the continent’s unique circumstances and vulnerability.

“Amref and partners stand ready to support and ensure that the impacts of climate change on health are systematically addressed through investments, capacity building, building strong and resilient health systems, and ensuring that the voice of reason and science gets us where we want to be,” added Muchangi.

And AGN Chair Ali Mohamed welcomed the World Health Organization (WHO) resolution on climate and health, saying it was a step in the right direction.

Ambassador Mohamed challenged CSOs to heavily invest in research for Africa’s positions to be founded on well-grounded evidence, saying the continent continues grappling with climate-induced challenges, thereby worsening most countries’ debt portfolios.

“I am aware of the climate and health agenda as the WHO passed a resolution last week. This is a welcome move amid the visible impacts of climate change on health. The impacts on infrastructure, water and all other sectors are ultimately on human health. For us, health is one of the thematic targets of the Global Goal on Adaptation and we are ready as a group to engage further on the matter,” said the AGN Chair.

“My plea is for us, and I challenge you as CSOs to invest in research. Let’s generate a formidable base of evidence, building on the existing evidence base of Africa’s vulnerability and disproportionate impacts of climate change so that our arguments in these processes are well informed and clear,” added ambassador Mohamed.

Amidst all this, a recent report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), titled “Building Africa’s Resilience to Global Economic Shocks,” indicates that climate shocks generally are highly correlated with the cyclical component of GDP growth and not with the long-term trend in Africa, which suggests that part of the volatility observed in growth emanates from climate-induced shocks.

With the situation already volatile, as highlighted, stakeholders continue to seek integrated interventions, including the mainstreaming of health in climate policies and plans.

Note: The author is the Climate Change Health Advocacy Lead at Amref Health Africa.

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