Introduction
Developing countries, particularly in Africa, face immense financial challenges. Instead of allocating funds to essential areas like education, healthcare, poverty alleviation, and climate change mitigation, a significant portion of the budget is often diverted to servicing debt, and this debt, primarily owed to creditors outside of Africa, drains resources that could otherwise be used for development.
The Financial Challenges
The developing countries often experience a negative net finance flow, meaning more money leaves these countries in the form of debt repayments than comes in through financial aid or investment. This financial burden complicates efforts to fund climate action and other essential services, despite commitments from wealthier nations to support poorer countries, the actual funds provided fall short of expectations and promises. While these nations pledged to double their spending on climate finance, the current contributions remain below the agreed-upon levels, the ongoing global crises further reduce the availability of funds for African countries, making it harder to address climate-related challenges.
The costs associated with loss and damage due to climate change is vast and growing. These costs include both tangible and intangible losses, such as the destruction of communities, cultures, and languages, estimations suggest that loss and damage could amount to $290 billion to $580 billion per year by 2030, highlighting the urgent need for financial support.
Adaptation involves preparing for and building resilience against the impacts of climate change. According to the UN Environment Programme, the cost of adaptation measures is around $387 billion per year in the 2020s, This figure aligns with the African Group of Negotiators’ call for adaptation finance to meet the global goal on adaptation. However, questions remain about where this money will come from and whether it will be in the form of loans or grants.
Mitigation, which is the focus of Net Zero efforts, requires substantial financial resources. However, the funds needed for adaptation and loss and damage reduce the amount available for mitigation, making it challenging for governments to achieve their Net Zero targets, additionally, there are significant costs associated with phasing out fossil fuels, particularly in countries like South Africa, where coal plays a major role in the economy. The transition to a green economy should consider just transition measures to support workers in the fossil fuel industry.
The NCQG is a new climate finance target being developed to replace the previous commitment of $100 billion per year, which was agreed upon in 2009 at the Copenhagen COP15, and the $100 billion goal, set to be achieved by 2020, was a significant step in the UN climate process, representing a commitment to support developing countries. However, the actual needs, as we’ve seen, are much higher, as the Paris Agreement came into effect in 2015, it was decided that the $100 billion commitment would continue until 2025, after which a new target, the NCQG, would be established. This new goal is expected to be finalized by 2024.
The $100 billion commitment has been a disappointing experience for many developing countries, including those in Africa. There were ambiguities about what constituted “new and additional” climate finance, leading to dissatisfaction and a sense of being misled.
Journalists play a crucial role in holding governments and international bodies accountable for their climate finance commitments. By highlighting these issues and ensuring transparency, journalists can help ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated with the NCQG.
The financial challenges faced by developing countries in addressing climate change are immense. With the upcoming NCQG, there is an opportunity to learn from past mistakes and ensure that climate finance is transparent, fair, and truly supportive of those who need it most, As the global community moves toward Net Zero, it is essential to consider the financial realities of developing countries and to ensure that climate finance is both equitable and effective. This revised presentation is more structured and provides a clearer narrative on the challenges and opportunities related to net-zero and climate finance in developing countries