Nassim Oulmane: “adequate, accessible, and new funding urgently”

Boris Ngounou (BN): What comment does the agreement on the Global Assessment reached at COP28 inspire in you?

Nassim Oulmane  : For the first time, the COP called for transitional action to free itself from fossil fuels. For Africa, which represents less than 4% of all cumulative and current emissions, the challenge is to ensure that climate change does not reduce our chances of developing and achieving our Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ) and the objectives of Africa's Agenda 2063. To do this, the remaining carbon budget must be adjusted to give Africa the space needed to build and secure its development and transformation trajectory.

This goal can only be achieved if industrialized nations immediately begin phasing out fossil fuels, while helping developing countries, particularly in Africa, invest in transitional fossil fuels to strengthen their capacity to transition to green energy. It is important to replace unilateral, unconcerted actions that create obstacles to these pathways with concerted, multilateral efforts aimed at facilitating these goals. We must always keep in mind that 600 million Africans still do not have access to energy. Therefore, the dual climate and development challenges facing African countries require promoting investments in transitional energies, particularly gas, to ensure that the continent quickly closes the access gap. energy and is industrializing at the pace necessary to achieve its development goals and facilitate the transition to clean energy. This is fundamentally the just energy transition we seek, within a global phase-out based on common but differentiated responsibilities and in light of national circumstances. This is the fair and just result that a united approach to COPs must produce.

During the high mass on climate in Dubai, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) deployed a plethora of panels and sessions on the SDGs and adaptation to climate change in Africa. What assessment do you make of it?

The ECA has actually organized numerous events in order to convey the unique voice of Africa and better explain the positions and needs of the continent to the rest of the world.

Finance remains the main obstacle to a comprehensive and inclusive climate response. It is of course frustrating that the goal of providing $100 billion in climate finance per year is still not being met. It is also frustrating that parties were unable to agree on the new quantified collective financing target at COP28. Despite this, many promising promises and initiatives were announced during the climate conference held in Dubai from November 30 to December 12, 2023.

However, many of these initiatives will not come to fruition unless adequate, accessible, predictable and new funding is urgently made available. It was important for these panels to reiterate that the funding gap is enormous. Between $5.8 and $5.9 trillion will be needed to implement Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 2030; $215 billion to $387 billion is needed each year for adaptation, and $4.3 trillion for clean energy investments. These are colossal sums, which will not be easily accessible from existing public funds. It is clear that providing affordable finance, restructuring debt, incentivizing new and innovative forms of financing, and reforming international financial institutions and systems will help achieve the SDGs and combat against climate change.

Another topic discussed by these panels concerns carbon markets. The historic consensus reached by COP 28 calling on parties to abandon fossil fuels will certainly increase the demand for carbon credits, strongly stimulated by the increased commitments of public and private investors to reduce residual carbon emissions notably from energy systems, industry, built infrastructure and transport. This demand will not be met by the current supply of credits in all existing markets, which represents a huge gap. Thanks to their vast carbon sinks located in their tropical forests and other terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and their high potential for renewable energy production, African countries will be able to generate and trade credible and additional credits of high quality to fill these supply gaps and help accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. They will also be able to generate additional income to support their adaptation, resilience, the SDGs and other priorities of their development plans. To enable African countries to effectively and fully exploit these opportunities, the ECA with partners such as the Congo Basin Climate Commission for the establishment of high integrity regional carbon markets that generate additional and credible credits and preserve the environmental integrity. We also had panels on the blue economy and the Great Blue Wall initiative, as well as with the African Islands Climate Commission in order to make the blue economy a pillar of development on the continent and action climate of Africa.

COP28 also resulted in the establishment of the “loss and damage” fund, with an initial contribution of around $725 million, according to the ADB. In your opinion, what should be done for this fund to quickly respond to the needs of African countries which remain the most vulnerable to natural disasters and the consequences of climate change?

From the first day of the conference, the COP28 presidency led the way by promising $100 million for the operationalization and initial capitalization of the “Loss and Damage” fund ($200 million was needed to make the fund operational ). By the second day of the international meeting, nearly $725 million had been pledged to the new fund. After nearly three decades of negotiations on the creation of the fund, this is a considerable step forward, which demonstrates the host's intention to obtain concrete results at the end of COP28.

However, it is worth noting that $725 million falls far short of the roughly $3 trillion needed to address loss and damage caused by climate change and build resilience. The financing needs are much greater. Much also remains to be done to define the operating rules of the fund, in particular its governance, the methods for assessing damage and quantifying compensation, the disbursement modalities, etc. ECA has been at the forefront of helping African States build the resilience of economies, ecosystems, infrastructure and livelihoods through initiatives such as, supporting the development and implementation of NDCs , capacity building for the integration of climate information into infrastructure and investment planning, or the conceptualization of the African strategy on climate change.

ECA also facilitated the development of a climate model-based tool to predict and assess losses and damages for African countries, which helped better assess the needs of African countries. Today, it is important to develop innovative tools based on methodologies accepted and agreed at the multilateral level so that the operationalization of this fund can respond quickly to the emergencies and needs of the continent which, I remind you, is the most vulnerable and most impacted by the consequences of climate change. This is what we are working on with our partners.

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