The African Business Roundtable has urged for stronger collaboration to help the continent take climate action. This was stated during a side event at the recently concluded (COP 27) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from November 6 to 18, 2022.
The program’s theme, “Scaling Up International Partnerships for the Next Steps of the Glasgow Climate Pact: Bridging Investment Gaps, Outlining Priorities and Unlocking Opportunities for Africa,” was created to raise awareness of the needs of the continent and to create partnerships to help achieve those goals. It also reflected the urgency of building on the outcome of COP 26 and launching concrete initiatives to hasten the Glasgow Climate Pact’s implementation.
Participants and panelists alike concurred that massive, immediate action was required to address the climate crisis we are currently facing, not only in light of the dire warnings of the world’s scientists but also in light of the formidable challenges of a post-COVID world and the impending slowdown in the global economy.
The program was successful in adding a new dimension to the conversation on Scaling Up Partnerships for Africa – domestic and international, public and private – in the effort to protect the environment and the global commons and promote global sustainable development. This renewed effort aimed to build on the remarkable progress made at COP26, which established a framework for addressing emerging and long-standing climate concerns. The Glasgow Climate Pact resulted in developed countries pledging to reach the $100 billion goal in climate finance as soon as possible. The Pact also commits to increasing the collective share of adaptation finance to $40 billion by 2025.
Furthermore, for the first time, the private sector clearly demonstrated that clean energy finance is a shared responsibility. Three private sector titans – the Rockefeller Foundation, the IKEA Foundation, and the Bezos Earth Fund – announced the Global Energy for People and Planet initiative in a broad-based coalition. They are bringing together leading philanthropies and eight developing finance organizations to address specific climate needs with clear goals and strategies backed by their own funds. The plan is to begin with $10 billion of their own funds, which will be leveraged to raise $100 billion for climate-focused initiatives that will unleash the power of the green economy.
The session concluded that replicating and scaling up these initiatives will undoubtedly make Africa a part of the solution, rather than the problem, of the global climate crisis. The meeting looked forward to continuing the conversation through periodic programs organized by the African Business Roundtable on the road to the 28th Conference of Parties, which is scheduled for November 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
