Last year’s climate talks in Madrid were a historic milestone, marking Twenty five years since the start of global response to the threat of global warming underneath the UN process.
At Cop25, countries took stock of their collective response to date.
A report by UN Global warming discovered that civilized world, excluding former soviet union countries, decreased their total aggregate greenhouse gas emissions by only 1.6% from 1990 to 2023, when excluding forestry and land use change. From 2000 to 2023, that figure was 9.5%.
This is alarming. At Cop25, African countries have called on developed countries to consider robust action and implementation to close the ambition gap of both cutting emissions and climate finance which they promised to complete by 2023, under the Kyoto Protocol.
The gap in mobilising and dispersing $100 billion a year by 2023 is a crucial concern of African countries. We've called on developed nations to deliver their obligation of climate finance to facilitate the implementation of more ambitious action in vulnerable countries.
2023 should be the year developed countries lead by example for the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Cop26 ought to be about implementation, not only about ambitious pledges.
Indeed, the Paris Agreement is a treaty targeted at raising ambition and actioning it. The UN summit in Glasgow would be the last mile prior to the initiation of the implementation of the Paris Agreement in 2023.
The missing pieces for its effective implementation have to be completed at Cop26.
These range from the rules to operationalise the worldwide goal on adaption and agreeing on common rules for a new carbon market, also referred to as Article 6, that can contribute to real emissions reductions and help finance adaptation in African countries.
Africa, a continent covering 54 countries, contributes only 4% of the total global emissions.
But based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Africa will also suffer some of the most adverse climate impacts. African countries have already come to the table with ambitious climate plans, also known as Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs), under the Paris Agreement.
Developed countries should now lead the way in which by pledging ambitious economy-wide emission reduction targets and by increasing the provision of climate finance that will to unlock further ambition among African countries.
Under the Paris Agreement, enhancing ambitious climate action in developing countries depends on the amount of support provided by civilized world.
Cop26, therefore, must reach an agreement on long-term finance for that period beyond 2023 to ensure that vulnerable countries can implement their climate plans.
The Republic of Gabon, through the strong leadership of His Excellency Ali Bongo Ondimba, has got the honour of chairing the Africa Group in UN Global warming negotiations for the next two years.
Gabon has initiated preparations for any stronger and unified African voice in the global global warming negotiations.
As chair of the Africa Group, I have received political guidance from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his capacity of coordinator from the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Global warming on the margins of the African Union Summit earlier this year.
The Government of Gabon will now host the first meeting from the African Number of Negotiators (AGN) at the end of February in the capital Libreville for three days under the theme “Cop26: Africa's Roadmap for Climate Action.”
At the Libreville meeting, the Africa Group will aim to reach a typical position and strategy for intersessional UN talks in Bonn in June, and choose its priorities for Cop26 in November.
The meeting also aims to adopt a common strategy over how you can engage with other with like-minded regions and countries, to make sure that African priorities are thought during this year’s talks.
The Africa Group, addressing a quarter of UN Global warming parties, maintain its commitment to a highly effective start of implementation from the Paris Agreement from January 2023.
As part of Gabon's enduring commitment to addressing climate change at both national and international level, the federal government is in the process of revising its current NDC in time for a submission to the UN before Cop26.
Gabon has additionally championed the Africa Group's African Adaptation Initiative launched in 2023 and contributed $500,000 to aid African countries within their efforts on adaptation.
