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Will Africa adaptation acceleration programme deliver climate cash?

The funds were to trickle in up to 2025.

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by GILBERT KOECH

News12 July 2022 - 21:42

In Summary


  • •In 2010, at the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen, wealthy nations made a mouth-watering pledge.
  • •The pledge was that they will channel US$100 billion (Sh 10.1 trillion) a year to less wealthy nations by 2020, to help them adapt to climate change and mitigate the further rise in temperature.
Global Centre on Adaptation chief executive Patrick Verkooijen during President Uhuru Kenyatta's inauguration as the Global Champion for the AAAP at the University of Nairobi Taifa Hall on July 7, 2022. image: ENOS TECHE

In 2010, at the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen, wealthy nations made a mouth-watering pledge.

The pledge was that they will channel US$100 billion (Sh 10.1 trillion) a year to less wealthy nations by 2020, to help them adapt to climate change and mitigate the further rise in temperature.

The funds were to trickle in up to 2025.

Twelve years later, the promise has not been fulfilled despite the fact that long-term finance is a key pillar of the Paris Agreement and crucial to global efforts to tackle the climate crisis.

The funds promised were to help turn the world into a zero-carbon, climate-resilient future.

The Paris Agreement makes it clear that developed countries will continue to provide and mobilise finance to support developing countries.

Under the agreement, governments agreed to balance public funding between adaptation and mitigation and agreed to significantly increase support for adaptation before 2020.

And to ensure that there is transparency, countries have committed to improving reporting on finance, with everyone providing information about finance provided or received at an appropriate time.

Despite the promises, not much has been done despite the fact that several Conferences have since been held.

For instance, from October 31 to November 12 last year, the 26th edition of the Conference of Parties took place in Glasgow and just like other previous conferences, not much was achieved.

The Kenyan government was forced to half-heartedly endorse the Glasgow climate pact, saying it failed to deliver the desired results.

Environment CS Keriako Tobiko in his closing remarks said the Kenyan delegation went to the climate talks with high expectations.

“Whilst Glasgow has not delivered what Paris promised, the long wait is not yet over despite CoP26 not being the resounding success we had hoped for.

"Nevertheless, the Glasgow package represents a positive step in the fulfilment of the Paris promise. For this reason, and in the spirit of compromise, Kenya endorses the Glasgow climate pact,” Tobiko said.

During the conference, developed countries pledged to double their provision of adaptation finance for developing countries.

Tobiko however felt the move was a big letdown. “…..we would emphasise that trust is of utmost importance.  As the saying goes once bitten, twice shy".

"In respect of the failed delivery of the Sh10.1 trillion per year, developing countries have since 2009 been bitten not once; not twice; not thrice, but more than 10 times!” he said.

Tobiko said the trust has not only been broken but shattered.

“A lot needs to be done, not by words, but by actions if the broken trust is to be restored.”

During the Glasgow conference, the Kenyan delegation was keen to have negotiations on loss and damage packages, especially for the Global South whose lives and livelihoods continue to be devastated by the impacts of global warming. 

The proposal was however thrown out of the window, to the chagrin of the Kenyan delegation.

“We are disappointed that our humble request to have this important issue admitted to the agenda so that we could have a chance to make our case was once again dismissed because as the President put it “there is no consensus on this!” Tobiko said.

Kenya’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution increases mitigation commitment from 30 per cent in 2016 to 32 per cent by 2030.

NDCs embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The Paris Agreement requires each party to prepare, communicate and maintain successive NDCs that it intends to achieve.

Parties shall pursue domestic mitigation measures, with the aim of achieving the objectives of such contributions.

The NDC also commits to enhancing resilience in all sectors of the economy.

The implementation cost of the updated NDC mitigation and adaptation is estimated to cost Sh6.710 trillion between 2020 and 2030.

The government is seeking to mobilise 13 per cent of the amount while another 87 per cent will be sourced from international partners.

The sectors that the government intends to use to curb emissions include agriculture, energy, manufacturing, transport; waste and forestry.

Sick and tired of waiting, a new vehicle- Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme-has been formed to help mobilise resources for climate adaptation measures.

On July 7, President Uhuru Kenyatta was inaugurated as the Global Champion for the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP).

The AAAP is an initiative of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) that aims to raise 25 billion US dollars for investment in Africa's climate adaptation initiatives.

As a champion, Uhuru said he will be the voice of all voiceless Africans who are crying out for a climate-resilient and prosperous future.

Uhuru said climate change has become an existential threat to every country in Africa adding that the Horn of Africa was facing its worst drought in over 40 years as a direct consequence of climate change.

“As we speak, over four million Kenyans are in need of food assistance and close to one million children under 2 years, are malnourished. Across the Horn of Africa, twenty million people – and six million of them are children - is severely food insecure,” Uhuru said.

The President said the deadly toxic cocktail of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ukraine-Russian war and the climate change-related emergency, grows more deadly by the day, complicating the dire situation.

Uhuru said developed nations must fulfil their financial pledges toward Africa's adaptation agenda.

“We have no choice. We must act and do so fast because the window of opportunity is closing on us. This means we must waste no time, and we must prioritise and invest massively in adaptation and resilience,” Uhuru said.

He added: “Therefore, today, as I assume my role as an adaptation champion, I repeat my call to our development partners to urgently support Africa by making good on their pledges. The US $100bn annual amount pledged to help developing countries tackle climate change by 2020, is yet to be honoured.”

Uhuru said the promises had piled up and there is a need for wealthy nations to walk the talk.

“And now, in the absence of that promised one hundred billion US Dollars a year, we have another promise pending – the promise made at COP26 in Glasgow to double adaptation finance.”

He added: “And it is timely. Because while Africa’s vulnerability to climate change is rising, so too is the gap between the available finance for adaptation and the needs in terms of hard cash. In stark terms indications are that the US $33 billion is the quantum of financing currently required for adaptation annually; but only a fraction of that – just US $6 billion – is available.”

Uhuru said there is a need to shift gear and move from commitments to action.

“To achieve the Paris Agreement, there must be a paradigm shift. When African leaders arrive in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt in November for COP27, we expect to see the many climate change commitments translate into funded programmes".

The President said AAAP is a bold and creative platform that lays a broad and firm foundation for economic growth while at the same time containing the impact of climate shocks.

The AAAP is supporting projects across four pillars.

The pillars are climate-smart digital technologies for agriculture and food security, African infrastructure resilience accelerator, youth empowerment for entrepreneurship and job creation in climate adaptation and innovative financial initiatives.

The Africa Development Bank has already indicated its commitment to devote U$12.5 billion to AAAP projects.

But even as countries prepare for COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt in November, Kenyan negotiators in climate change talks want Africa's special needs and circumstances to be given special attention during the meeting.

They also want agriculture to be given the attention it deserves saying impacts of climate change have not spared the sector.

Their pleas come at a time the sixth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change delivered a stark warning about the impact of climate change on people and the planet.

The IPCC report which was released on February 28 showed that the yield for maize production which is a staple for Kenya is going to reduce by 30 per cent and that of beans by 50 per cent.

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