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African countries and activists are in Baku, Azerbaijan this week for COP 29 pushing for increased investment in climate-related projects as well as the reform of the global financial system.
Central to the discussions is the setting of new climate finance targets to support developing countries in climate adaptation and mitigation. The proposed “New Collective Bargaining Agreement (NCQG)” is meant to replace a 15-year old commitment by developed nations to provide $100 billion annually to developing countries, which was only achieved in 2022 after years of missed targets.
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Reforming the financial architecture to unlock more funds to back clean energy projects also remains a major concern for African participants at the conference. The African Development Bank (AfDB) unveiled a new program to factor Africa’s environmental resources such as using carbon sinks in estimating the continent’s wealth, allowing countries to access greater funds from international markets.
Preliminary estimates by the bank indicate that carbon sequestration alone could have boosted Africa’s nominal GDP in 2022 by $66 billion, a 2.2% increase.
“That means that the countries can have larger headroom to take on more financing and invest them for the greening of their economies,” said AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina in a statement. “Therefore, such a move is important for re-computing Africa’s debt sustainability.”
Developing countries, many of them in Africa, are disproportionately affected by climate change despite accounting for just 4% of global emissions. They also often lack sufficient resources to combat climate change.