Africa is not responsible for climate change but bears the brunt of it – President Cyril Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa chairing the thirty first digital Session the APRM Discussion board of Heads of States and Governments [Photo: GCIS]

• Africans are bearing the brunt of local weather change, says President Cyril Ramaphosa.
• He says the monetary flows to creating international locations are insufficient.
• In accordance with Ramaphosa, a one-size-fits-all method will not work.

Though they aren’t chargeable for inflicting local weather change, Africans are those who’re bearing the brunt and the price of the phenomenon, says President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa was taking part in a digital assembly of the African Union Committee of African Heads of State and Authorities on Local weather Change on Sunday when he made the remark.

He mentioned the Covid-19 pandemic had set again multilateral processes, together with these round local weather change.

“It’s crucial that we don’t lose momentum and that local weather change just isn’t relegated to the periphery of the worldwide improvement agenda,” he mentioned.

“Africa is experiencing the worst impacts of phenomena related to world warming, comparable to droughts, floods and cyclones.

“Local weather change impacts are costing African economies between three and 5 % of their GDPs. Regardless of not being chargeable for inflicting local weather change, it’s Africans who’re bearing each the brunt and the associated fee.”

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He added that final yr, the continent spoke with one voice at COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

“The advanced Glasgow Local weather Pact strives to strike the appropriate steadiness by accommodating the differing nationwide circumstances and capacities among the many practically 2 hundred events. The purpose is that every one are enabled and empowered to contribute their fair proportion in addition to to boost their local weather ambition.

“Developed financial system international locations have agreed to help the implementation of simply transitions that promote sustainable improvement, poverty eradication, and the creation of first rate work and high quality jobs.”

Ramaphosa mentioned it was nonetheless a priority that the required monetary flows to allow creating financial system international locations to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of local weather change have been nonetheless “vastly insufficient”.

“A one-size-fits-all method to advanced points, comparable to a transition from fossil fuels that disregard the realities on the bottom in Africa, will merely not work, and is neither simply nor equitable,” Ramaphosa mentioned.

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