As the world gathers for the 2023 United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December 2023, the impacts of the climate crisis continue to be felt the world over. The crisis is our own doing, as greenhouse gas emissions push temperatures to record levels while destroying the planet.

July 2023 was the hottest month on record since 1880, according to scientists, with all indications that the world will grow steadily warmer, with increasing negative impacts on humanity.

It is estimated that more than 1.2 billion people will be climate migrants by 2050, underlining the gravity of the crisis. COP28 comes on the heels of the Africa Climate Summit (ACS) in September 2023 – the first of its kind and which culminated in the Nairobi Declaration, which, among other things, called for reforms to international financial institutions and a range of new global taxes to fund climate action.

A key element of the Dubai meeting will be an assessment of how far governments have fulfilled their Paris Agreement commitments – a process known as the global stocktake. The 2023 Global Stocktake Synthesis Report shows that countries are well short of reaching their targets for cutting emissions. Thus, countries must commit to enhanced National Determined Contributions due by 2025, to make significant progress in the fight against climate change.

This comes on the heels of the latest report, which shows a huge gap in financial commitments towards adaptation. The adaptation needs of developing countries – money needed to help communities make critical adjustments for the climate crisis – are 10 to 18 times bigger than the available or committed finances by rich countries and development banks.

COP28 must, therefore, critically prioritise doubling of adaptation finance, a call that developing countries have made for some time.

COP28 is also an opportunity for countries to put nature at the heart of the response to the climate crisis. Healthy and well-connected ecosystems and biodiversity and nature-based solutions, science shows us, provide more than one-third of the adaptation and mitigation solutions to the climate crisis. Governments must prioritise conservation, protection and restoration of forests, wetlands, peatlands, grasslands and Key Biodiversity Areas, since these are not only critical to the livelihoods of the communities that depend on them, but also for resilience building against the climate crisis.

Financing critical

What will a successful COP28 look like for Africa? Climate financing will be critical for African countries. As it stands, Africa receives a meagre 3% of the total global climate finance. Since 2009 at COP15 in Copenhagen, developed countries pledged to provide $100-billion a year to developing countries – a pledge that is yet to be met.

At COP27, a key outcome was that countries agreed to establish a Loss and Damage Fund to cushion developing countries from severe impacts of climate change. A transitional committee has spent much of this year working out modalities to establish this fund. Thus, developing countries, particularly those in Africa, ought to push for the operationalisation of this fund.

Phasing out fossil fuels will be a key element of the discussions, where a common front is needed, particularly for the Africa group. Linked to this is the need for increased renewable energy investments on the continent. About 600 million people have no access to energy on a continent with some of the best renewable energy resources globally.

According to the International Energy Agency, Africa attracted only about 2% of global renewable energy investments in 2022. At the Africa Climate Summit, African leaders set an ambitious target of increasing the continent’s renewable energy installed capacity from 56GW to 300GW by 2030. An energy transition of this nature would be critical in tackling the climate crisis while increasing energy access.

Thus, COP28 provides a chance for countries to push for a clean energy transition.

Further, it is important to ensure that this energy transition does not harm biodiversity, particularly wildlife and birds. BirdLife International has developed the Avian Sensitivity Tool for Energy Planning (AviStep) which is being rolled out in Africa and elsewhere. AviStep helps investors and decision-makers identify where renewable energy infrastructure could be rolled out without harming birds, thus ensuring a win-win for energy and nature.

The issue of carbon credits will feature prominently at COP28. While Africa has some of the best carbon sinks, including mangroves, forests and grasslands, the global carbon market can enable the continent to monetise carbon offsetting services for the planet.

However, in recent years, carbon markets have faced criticism for their effectiveness, leading to a fall in the price of voluntary carbon credits. Thus, a key aspect of the discussions would centre on the need to create carbon-crediting guidelines under the Paris Agreement, which will be instrumental in streamlining the global carbon market.

Last, adaptation solutions proposed at COP28 must speak to the realities of the people and wholesomely address their needs. Locally Led Adaptation is a good example of this, where local communities lead and implement innovative solutions to address climate change.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Big shortfall in climate funding needed by developing countries is ‘hugely worrying’ – UNEP

Working with local communities, BirdLife International has been at the forefront of implementing such solutions. In the Great Lakes Region in Rwanda and Burundi, BirdLife has implemented a climate resilience programme on landscape restoration by planting more than 1.2 million trees, in addition to improving the livelihoods of more than 4,000 households.

This programme is now being scaled up with support from TerraFund for AFR100, the Africa Restoration initiative seeking to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land across the continent. 

Climate action is needed more than ever, and COP28 presents a critical opportunity to deliver climate justice to Africa that climate-vulnerable communities urgently need.

The big question is, will it? DM

Ken Mwathe is the Policy, Climate and Communications Coordinator, BirdLife International Africa. Email: ken.mwathe@birdlife.org