The Mozambican non-governmental organisation (NGO), Justiça Ambiental, argued this Tuesday, September 5, that African leaders meeting in Kenya should align strategies for a sustainable energy future, considering that solutions such as the carbon market should be avoided.
At stake is the Africa Climate Action Summit, which has been taking place since yesterday (5) in Kenya, bringing together more than 20 heads of state from the continent, as well as other world leaders, to articulate a common African position for different global forums.
Speaking to Lusa, the director of the NGO’s board, Anabela Lemos, said that “it is fundamental that the discussions focus on promoting real climate solutions, rejecting false solutions such as carbon markets or nature-based solutions”. For this reason, “the African summit should serve to define strategies for a sustainable energy future”, at a time when the continent prevails as one of the most affected by climate change, despite being the least polluted.
“This first African climate summit could be crucial in defining our continent’s energy future,” emphasised Anabela Lemos.
For the organisation, at a time when expectations about the extractive sector are growing in countries like Mozambique, African leaders should rethink investments in this area, suggesting that the priority should be clean energies.
“The financial resources earmarked for the exploration of new gas and oil projects should be redirected towards resolving issues of loss and damage, investing in climate adaptation and prioritising clean and safe renewable energies that benefit the people,” said Anabela Lemos.
At the end of August, the US government, through its Agency for International Development (USAID), announced a new programme, “PLANETA”, worth two million dollars, to facilitate international investment in nature-based carbon capture projects in Mozambique.
According to USAID, the three-year programme will support a plan of ten projects, offering advisory services to their promoters and linking them to the international carbon emissions markets.
Mozambique is considered one of the countries most severely affected by climate change in the world, facing cyclical floods and tropical cyclones during the rainy season, which runs from October to April.
The 2018-19 rainy season was one of the most severe on record in the country: 714 people died, including 648 victims of cyclones Idai and Kenneth, two of the biggest ever to hit the country.
At the end of the summit, which runs until today, Wednesday (6), it is planned to adopt the so-called “Nairobi Declaration”, a document that seeks to articulate a common African position for different global forums.
