DPM & FM Demeke Urges Global Actors To Support Africa’s Climate Actions Through Financing

Addis Ababa (ENA) February 20/2023 Global actors should support Africa’s climate actions through financing, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen said.

Africa Business Forum under the theme “Making Carbon Markets Work for Africa” was held here in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia today.

In his remark, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen said African countries register low level of carbon emission, yet they bear much of its consequences.

“We must urge global actors to support Africa’s climate actions through financing and we must also sync new instruments that will help us meet our greenhouse gas emissions reduction and national renewable energy targets,”Demeke said.

The carbon market can help African countries inch closer to achieving targets, he said adding that “it can also help us garner energy investment.”

National development plans of African countries should align with Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, Demeke said.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister elaborated as:"In Ethiopia, achieving a climate resilient green economy is a key pillar of the country’s 10 year development plan. We are working to reduce carbon emission through an updated nationally determined contribution.

"The government of Ethiopia encourages private sector engagement in its national renewable energy targets, he indicated.

UNECA Acting Executive Secretary, Antonio Pedro, said while we can lament the broken 100 billion USD promise, we must remember that this promise would never allow us to truly address the cost of climate change in any scenario.

This level of financing requires frameworks which go beyond a transfer of resources from rich to poor, he said, and stressed “Africa is not begging.” “And African countries are not the ones that have the moral imperative to drive a net-zero transition, since we are responsible for less than 4% of emissions while representing 17% of the global population.

But we do have a moral imperative to deliver sustainable development for our people and for future generations,” the Acting Executive Secretary emphasized.

An ECA assessment has shown that Africa will need around 438 billion USD in adaptation financing by 2030, Pedro stated, and added “carbon markets are key to making adaptation investment ready.”

Currently, Africa only receives 14% of its climate finance from the private sector, the lowest ratio in the world, he pointed out, and noted “carbon markets can be a critical component in moving beyond donor dependence.”

Moreover, he pointed out that carbon markets could unleash an estimated 82 billion USD a year in value, at 120 USD per ton of CO2 sequestered, as well as create 167 million additional jobs.