YAMOUSSOUKRO: The effect of global warming costs African countries up to five percent of their economic output, the UN climate chief stated on Thursday, calling for more funds to help adapt to the challenge of climate change.
“The climate change is an economic sinkhole, sucking the momentum out of economic growth,” Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change told a meeting of African ministers of the environment in Cote d’Ivoire.
The governments in Africa and their climate negotiators are considering different strategies at the pre-COP29, preparatory meeting in the West African nation. Although the Africa has attracted new investors in climate mitigation and adaptation projects in recently, it gets a very small portion of the 100 billion U.S. dollars in financing available internationally, African governments say.
“Over 400 billion U.S. dollars spent on clean energy in 2023, only 2.6 billion U.S. dollars went to African countries,” he stated. Climate change is blamed for protracted famine and spells of catastrophic flooding across the content that have hit the production of foods. The reduced production of food drives up commodity prices and worsens hunger in the region.
Stiell stated that there have been increasing calls for Africa to secure more climate financing in the run-up to COP29. Officials expressed hope to find consensus on new global climate finance goals.
