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Byron Adonis Mutingwende
As Southern Africa faces escalating climate challenges, the urgency for enhanced climate finance in 2024 has never been more critical. With increasing temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, and extreme weather events, the region is at a pivotal moment where proactive measures can shape its future.
Southern Africa is uniquely vulnerable to climate change impacts, which threaten food security, water availability, and overall economic stability.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the region is projected to experience a temperature increase of up to 3°C by 2100, leading to severe droughts and floods.
“Climate change is not just an environmental issue; it is a humanitarian crisis,” says Shepherd Zvigadza, Shepard Zvigadza, the Coordinator of the Southern Africa Region Climate Action Network (SARCAN).
Zvigadza, who is also an environmental scientist and advocate based in Harare, Zimbabwe, said this crisis necessitates immediate and robust financial investments to enhance resilience and adaptation strategies.
Globally, there are 130 countries in a critical debt situation. Many are being forced to prioritise debt payments to wealthy creditors over spending on vital public needs such as addressing the climate crisis. Some countries have to exploit their natural resources, including fossil fuels, to generate funds to pay debt. At the same time, inadequate and loan-based climate finance is pushing countries further into debt, forcing them to pay for a crisis they did not create.
It is vital that the process of establishing a new post-2025 climate finance goal factors in debt justice. Without adequate grant-based climate finance, countries will be forced to pay for the climate crisis themselves by taking on more debt. And, without debt cancellation, the debt crisis will continue to be a major blocker to countries’ ability to address the climate crisis while any new finance to global south countries will likely have to be used to service debt rather than address urgent needs.
‘’This is why debt justice and climate justice must go hand in hand,’’ says Zvigadza.
‘’But rather than delivering the solutions we urgently need – debt cancellation and grant-based, public climate finance – rich countries are pushing false and distracting solutions, like debt swaps, which at best do little to help, or at worst, will exacerbate the debt crisis and further undermine countries’ ability to act. We need action now! ‘’ emphasised Zvigadza.
“Climate finance must not only support mitigation efforts but also address the historical injustices faced by communities affected by climate change,” asserts Sydney Chisi, a seasoned civil society leader and human rights defender based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Chisi emphasized the urgent need for a climate debt policy that acknowledges the historical responsibility of developed nations for the climate crisis. In addition, Chisi underscored the stark disparity between the Global North and South, highlighting how Western industrialization over the past 300 years had disproportionately contributed to greenhouse gas emissions while reaping immense economic benefits.
‘’We are faced with two emerging crises, climate change at one end and the emerging and extension of debt in itself,’’ adds Chisi.
The concept of climate debt refers to the financial obligations of developed countries to support developing nations in addressing climate change. Historically, the Global North has contributed significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, while the Global South bears the brunt of climate impacts.
According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Global North owes a moral and financial debt to the Global South, which includes funding for adaptation and mitigation to address the immediate and long-term impacts of climate change.
“If you look at the Global South countries, at the end of the day you will find out that history has taken us to an understanding that for 300 years of industrialisation the Global North has been emitting unabated without any mitigation strategy,” Chisi said.
The SADC People’s Summit, a gathering of civil society organizations, community leaders, and citizens from the region recently called for a robust, equitable, and just climate debt policy.
This policy would require developed countries in the Global North to pay US$5 trillion annually to the Global South for climate change mitigation.
This call for US$5 trillion annually for climate finance stems from the need to meet the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The World Bank and other financial institutions emphasize that mobilizing these funds is essential not only for climate action but also for fostering sustainable economic growth.
As we approach 2025, Southern Africa must escalate its climate finance efforts. The challenges posed by climate change are immense, but the opportunities for sustainable development are equally significant. By prioritizing climate finance, Southern African nations can work towards a more resilient and equitable future.
Southern African countries are holding virtual meetings to push the climate debt crisis to greater heights during the Global Week Of Action which ran between 8th and 13th Sept 2024
‘’It is time for governments, civil society, and the international community to unite in advocating for increased climate finance. Let us raise our voices for climate justice and ensure that Southern Africa receives the support it needs to combat climate change effectively,’’ Zvigadza said, adding, “The future of our planet depends on our actions today. We must act decisively to secure a sustainable tomorrow.”
By addressing these critical issues and mobilizing necessary resources, Southern Africa can lead the way in climate action, setting an example for the rest of the world.
