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In Baku, Africa must demand more from global financing pot

The 29th session of the global climate change negotiations (COP 29) is happening in Baku, Azerbaijan in November.
As the world converges for COP29, the UN climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, the stakes for Africa have never been higher. These climate talks take place against the backdrop of rising temperatures and spiraling climate impacts, but they also offer a huge opportunity to kickstart major climate investment in Africa.
It remains one of the great tragedies of the modern world that the continent with the largest clean energy potential continues to have the most people without access to electricity. Despite the endless solar power available here, in 2022 more solar panels were installed in rainy Belgium than the entirety of the African continent.
It is perverse, but the sunniest countries in the world have installed the least solar. Analysis from the think tank Ember shows that only 14 per cent of global solar capacity installed in 2023 was in markets with sunshine above the global average. Notably, Japan has 41 times as many solar panels as Egypt, despite the fact that a solar panel in Egypt would produce 64 per cent more electricity.
Clearly, something is broken, and one of the main reasons for this bizarre state of affairs is that it’s much harder and more expensive to borrow money to invest in clean energy projects in Africa. And this presents us with yet another example of the deep injustice of the climate crisis, which explains why it’s cheaper for rich countries to install a solar panel in a cloudy place than for a poor African country, in desperate need of energy access, to install one in their sunny backyards
This, and many other reasons, show why there is such a need for an injection of cash to fund the urgent energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables and deliver the financial support to vulnerable communities to help them deal with the consequences of the climate crisis they did nothing to cause.
By 2030, Africa’s annual adaptation funding needs will hit $53 billion a year. For millions of Africans, this funding could be the difference between life and death. It is shocking, therefore, that the current climate finance flows are so sluggish and insufficient.
This is the issue on the table in Baku as nations negotiate a new climate finance goal which will hopefully see more than a trillion dollars a year flow from rich countries. This new funding needs to be mostly in the form of grants, not loans, otherwise it will just exacerbate the global debt crises and shackle Africa with a further burden.
At these summits, Africa speaks with one voice through the Africa Group. African negotiators must work together, along with other progressive allies and other developing countries, to hold the global north countries accountable and ensure they sign up to paying the bill they owe. Everyone accepts that this funding is needed, and that this meeting will be where it is agreed.
Africa must also not relent in the push to develop a new global financial architecture to address the inequities that hinder access to investment capital by global south countries.
COP29 can kickstart the process of reforming multilateral development banks, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, to convert them into fit-for-purpose vessels that facilitate the transfer of resources and technology to power development and widespread investment in renewable energy.
At this COP, Africa must be resolute in its quest for a global system that allows the continent to capitalise on not only its wind and solar potential, but also the richness of its natural resources, including critical minerals that are vital to renewable energy technology.
Last year, at COP28 in Dubai, the world operationalised the Loss and Damage Fund. The $725 million pledged by developed nations, however, falls grossly short of the more than $400 billion in loss and damage that Africa could experience by 2030. The money pledged is so small it trivialises the enormity of the prevailing crisis.
African leaders must push for the investment of resources that are commensurate with the scale of the climate threat and impacts that millions of our communities face.
Mr Adow is the founder and director of Power Shift Africa.