The European Union has pledged to dedicate more than $1 billion in climate funding to assist countries in Africa boost their resilience in the face of the accelerating impact of climate change and global warming.
Launched at UN climate talks along with France, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, the initiative is expected to combine “existing and new” programmes to prepare for future impacts of a warming world, without detailing the total amount of new finance.
According to European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, the funding also includes an EU pledge of $60 million for climate “loss and damage” already being suffered, a contentious issue at the negotiations in Egypt.
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Although the UN COP27 climate talks were termed an “African COP”, observers have expressed dismay at the slow progress on providing help for the continent, one of the most vulnerable to a cascade of climate-driven floods, heat waves and droughts.
Timmermans however said that the initiative which is set up in partnership with the African Union, was a “starting point”, adding that It will cover the collection of climate risk data, boosting early warning systems, disaster risk finance and insurance, as well as helping to attract private finance.
Ultimately, “we need a shift of trillions, not billions,” Timmermans was quoted as saying.
Story was adapted from NDTV.
