African Group says new climate agreements must hinge on fulfilling past commitments

ECA Press Release No. 24/2007

Bali, Indonesia, 03 December 2007 - The African Group at the ongoing international conference on climate change in Bali said today that new agreements on climate change would only work if developed countries honored past commitments made since the Climate Change Convention and Protocol came into force many years ago.

"Walking into a new regime with all the present difficulties towards implementing the already agreed commitments is totally unacceptable," said the Group, adding, "It will only mean one thing – that nothing is going to happen in future – and the suffering of our people continues".

In a statement on its behalf read by Nigeria, the Group says while Africa is at the receiving end of the impacts of climate change due to the continent's vulnerability, "we gather year-in-year-out, making commitments which are far from being fulfilled to rescue the earth from pending catastrophes".

The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says climate change will expose between 75 million and 250 million Africans to increased water stress and 50 percent yield reduction from rain-fed agriculture.

The Group said adaptation and mitigation strategies in Africa had not been implemented due to inadequate capacity building and because the issues fundamental to the implementation of climate change activities had not been adequately addressed as stipulated in the Convention and the Protocol.

"There is too much emphasis on seminars, workshops and needs assessment. For how long will our needs continue to be assessed?" said the Group

The Group said adaptation had not received the desired priority in the implementation of the Convention and the Protocol. "Whatever fund, and in whatever magnitude available, remains inaccessible due to conditionality of co-financing," said the Group, calling for the finalization of the discussions on an "Adaptation Fund" at the Bali conference

Earlier, the Group of 77 and China, represented by Pakistan, said the most formidable challenge in addressing climate change and its effects was the lack of fulfillments of commitments made regarding reduction of green house emission, provision of financial resources and technology transfer and insufficient institutional capacity in developing countries for participation in carbon market mechanisms.

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