Why winning the climate fight in Africa is a win for the world

The latest UN report on climate change – specifically what can be done about it – sounds the alarm on a lack of green financing and funding promises for Africa, the continent most vulnerable to global warming.

A member of Oxfam protests against the use of fossil fuels in Durban, South Africa. Reuters/Mike Hutchings

In the final chapter of a trilogy of reports, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) tells policymakers for the first time that reducing climate chaos in poorer countries is actually compatible with worldwide sustainable development goals.

“The literature shows the two are not contradictory,” Yamina Saheb, one of the IPCC’s lead authors, told RFI – adding this meant that Africa could ramp up its development while also limiting its emissions.

“Africa has a huge potential for renewable energy, one of the largest in the world.”

Failures

Scientists and governments involved in the landmark report, which was published late Monday amid disputes over its wording, agreed main obstacles to limiting greenhouse gases in Africa were a lack of financing and failures to transfer technology.

African countries needed to start receiving promised multilateral aid by western countries, who needed to stop making Africa “Europe's dustbin”, Saheb said. 

“Equipment or cars that are no longer used in Europe are sent to Africa – and even clothes – but for this to stop, African countries would have to say we don't want this anymore,” she said. 

“Ghana, for example, banned the import of fridges that were no longer used in Europe, precisely because they were not energy efficient.”

‘Most at risk’

The third IPCC report, which deals with the tricky subject of mitigation, agreed that global efforts to slash rising fossil fuel emissions also needed to fairly take into account the dilemmas faced by poorer countries.

The finding supports a recent comprehensive analysis examining the wealth of nations and their dependence on fossil fuels that also concluded poorer countries would be most hurt by a rapid move away from oil and gas, even risking political instability.

Issues of poverty and justice in oil-producing African countries, the IPCC said, were an important factor in global decisions to cap warming at 1.5C. 

These countries would need wriggle room to keep on using the fossil fuels they have, and to work on cutting emissions down the line once their green energy sectors became more advanced.

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“At the very least we must guarantee a decent standard of living for all,” Saheb said.

“Africa still has hasn't used up its share of the remaining carbon budget, so energy saving should not not call into question its development.

“What should be called into question is the Western standard of development that has led to the climate crisis.”

Experts have already warned emissions must be halved by 2030 if the world is to meet the 1.5C target and stave off the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.

The IPCC said existing policies have put the world on track for an explosive 3.2C of warming by the end of the century.