African Countries have been urged to re-strategise and refocus as the UN Climate Change summit moves towards its conclusion.
Executive Director, Environmental Rights Action, Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Chima Williams, made this call while speaking on TVC News the World Today.
Mr Williams said African Leaders are not making the right demands about the issue of climate change, mitigation and adaptation techniques at COP 27 in Sharm El Sheik.
He asked that African leaders and delegations at COP 27 need to be more thoughtful on the demands they are making and try to know who is setting the standards for the demands being made and on what basis the demands are being made.
He added that the demands have to be right because the impact of Climate change is already being felt already in African Countries and the demands being made must be thoughtful so that the mitigation and adaptation techniques will lead to the right outcomes for Africans and African Nations’.
“Well, I think historically, looking at the issue of loss and damages, which is a cliche that entered into the COP Lexicon since last year, 2021, the African leader paying tax loss and damages, which is the demand for payment.
Of compensation for those irreversible losses that are occasioned by climate change impact which will lead to financial provisions for infrastructure development. Sort of is something that will be good for Africans and the African continent. And this is why I think the leaders are campaigning heavily about it and have made it an essential theme of their demand for COP 27 that is happening on African soil.
Yes, this is the worry that some of us are expressing here, that our government demands on loss and damages, the right demand because who sets the standard, who analyzes what is lost and damaged, who analyzes the amount of compensation to be paid, who pays it?
And giving the fact that from even the first major COP that sets standards when we suggest seeing those standards being eroded from copyrighting and a different kind of standards being set by climate court which led to nations. Setting down their nationally returning contributions.
Up to now, the financing promises what has been made out of it, what have been paid and what proportion of that amount has gotten to Africa and to Africans. So what makes our leaders think that it’s going to be a different Strategy, you know, by the time they demand for and get commitment on loss and damages?
If we see this same issue all over and I think as an environmentalist, African leaders are not making the right demands. Honestly, I recommended that they should be thoughtful. So think of what are the root causes, what are the actions, interactions, the activities that are based on the incident of climate change, African contribution lead to the issues that leads, for instance, the issue of greenhouse gas emissions.
What is the African proportional contribution that Africans benefits more than any other? In terms of the impact, I would say it’s happening even as we speak now. Many communities in Africa basically Africa needs to change critically, look at its demands critically and then change what it is asking for”.
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