AFRICAN countries have been urged to collaborate in coming up with climate financing models in response to the vagaries of the ever-changing weather patterns.
Speaking during the ActionAid and MESHA joint Climate Justice Science Café on Tuesday, Global Lead on Climate Justice at ActionAid Teresa Anderson said African countries were reeling from the effects of climate change.
“And within the Global South it is communities living in poverty who are most affected by floods, droughts, rising sea levels. Farmers face crop failure, loss of livelihoods,” Anderson said.
“Communities in the Global South need support, especially finance for addressing loss and damage: recovering in the aftermath of climate disasters; adaptation: Strengthening resilience to future climate impacts: mitigation: Transitioning to greener pathways to reduce GHGs [greenhouse gases].”
Early this year, the German government’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV-IKI) provided a US$20 million funding that will see Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia implementing climate-based adaptation projects.
The projects are aimed at building community resilience to climate change, while safeguarding ecosystems and biodiversity.
Anderson, however, bemoaned the continued resistance by wealthy countries to commit more funds to helping Africa in the fight against climate change.
“Currently, wealthy countries have agreed to collectively provide US$100 billion for 2020-2025. That number is completely inadequate. A number plucked out the air in 2009, well before the scale and costs of climate change were really understood. The number was formalised in 2015 in the Paris Agreement and they have failed to meet that target,” she said.
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ActionAid Zimbabwe country director Joy Mabenge called for immediate intervention by relevant stakeholders to mitigate the adverse outcomes caused by climate change.
“We have seen how time and again Zimbabwe has not been spared from the effects of the climate crisis,” he said.
Mabenge further said the call for the richer polluting countries to pay for loss and damage was noble.
Zimbabwe has not been spared the harsh effects of climate change as seen in recurring floods, droughts and other natural disasters.
