Cop: African group calls for practical global stocktake

The African group of negotiators, a party grouping, today called for the outcome of the Cop 28 UN climate summit's global stocktake — a measurement of progress towards the Paris Agreement — to be "one that all parties can effectively implement".

"The global stocktake outcome must... be guided by the principles of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Paris Agreement, in particular, common but differentiated responsibilities," chair of the African group of negotiators and Zambian environment minister Collins Nzovu said today.

Common but differentiated responsibilities, a key principle of the Paris accord, refer to the duty of all countries to take climate action, but depending on their differing national circumstances.

"The global stocktake must explicitly recognise Africa's developmental constraints and challenges," he added.

It should also "facilitate the provision of the support and development space for the continent to exploit its natural resources and endowments for achieving sustainable development goals," Nzovu said. Sustainable development goals are a UN call to action to achieve a better and more sustainable future.

The global stocktake — a measurement of progress towards the UN's Paris Agreement — will be the main outcome of this Cop. It is intended to inform the next round of countries' emissions reduction plans, due in 2025. It is "so comprehensive" that it links all other issues up for discussion at Cop 28, non-governmental organisation Climate Action Network international climate policy expert Sven Harmeling says.

The "just and resilient low-carbon development, if not properly designed, risks widening the developmental gap between Africa and the rest of the world", Nzovu said.

"This is not the sort of outcome we must leave here with. The global stocktake outcome must enable us to achieve the purpose of the ParisAgreement in the fullest sense," he said.

Ahead of Cop 28, African leaders called on the international community to contribute towards increasing the continent's renewable power generation to at least 300GW by 2030 from 56GW in 2022. Meeting this target will cost an estimated $600bn and will require a tenfold increase in capital flowing into Africa's renewable energy sector over the next seven years, they said.

A new draft text for the global stocktake was released on 8 December — described as "refined building blocks" designed to act as a starting point for ministerial discussions.

Nzovu also complained about the lack of progress on adaptation —adjusting to the effects of climate change — during the summit. Cop 28 is mandated to complete the work undertaken for the past two years under the Global Goal on Adaptation, by launching a robust framework. The African group is seeking "tangible outcomes which reflect Africa's aspirations, especially on the need for enhanced climate adaptation", Nzovu said.

"We expect a robust Framework on the global goal on adaptation outcome," Nzovu said, adding that they are so far disappointed by the lack of progress on this important issue in the first week.

An outcome that does not take into consideration Africa's demands would make the continent "consider Cop 28 a failure".

The African group cautiously welcomed the good news on the operationalisation of the loss and damage fund early on. "Similar commitments made in the past, which, from our standpoint, have not been fulfilled," the chair said.

By Bachar Halabi