By Busani Bafana
Bulawayo, Aug 31 2022 – Africa needs to trade in carbon credits to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, finance the transition to renewable energy, and boost economic development, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) says.

Carbon credits present an opportunity for African countries – many dependent on fossil fuels for energy – to protect themselves against climate change while raising much-needed finance for the transition to renewable energy transition, said Jean-Paul Adam, Director for Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management Division at UNECA.

Jean-Paul Adam, Director for Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management Division at UNECA.

Carbon credits are globally traded commodities or permits that allow the emission of one tonne of CO2 or one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent gases to be traded on national or international carbon markets. These credits, which can be used to boost economic growth and attract financing for various projects, are traded on the carbon offset markets.

By selling carbon credits, African countries can also tackle climate change by protecting their forests which absorb and store a measured amount of carbon. Besides, the carbon credits can also be sold as ‘offsets’ to companies unable to cut pollution to reduce emissions elsewhere.

Lack of finance and capacity to trade on the global carbon markets are hurdles for African countries have to overcome in the growing global carbon markets, where the carbon pricing revenue increased by almost 60 percent last year to about $84 billion, according to the World Bank.

Cashing in on carbon credits

Africa suffers energy insecurity, as seen in chronic power load shedding and blackouts that have a huge cost on people’s livelihoods and economic growth.

Fossil fuels dominate Africa’s energy mix, which comprises crude oil, coal, natural gas, hydropower, wind, and solar power. Africa is an untapped market for carbon trading. About two percent of global investments in renewable energy in the last two decades were made in Africa,  according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) report.

But letting go of fossil fuels is a catch-22 situation for African countries. Many could lose essential revenue and risk stranded natural resources as the world demand for fossil fuels declines in favour of renewable energy.

According to the African Development Bank, more than 600 million people in Africa have no access to energy, and the continent has some of the world’s lowest electricity access rates for African countries at just over 40 percent.

The UNECA is supporting African countries to raise their resources reliably and transparently through carbon trading, said Adam, noting the need for an appropriate supervisory body for transparent carbon credit trading.

He said that African countries are the guardians of some of the world’s important carbon removing assets. Large-scale natural and land-based assets can enable African countries to meet  30 percent of the world’s sequestration needs by 2050.

“We know that the rate of deforestation in Africa is the highest in all regions of the world, and therefore a well-structured carbon credit system can allow African countries to protect at-risk resources and generate income from the protection of those resources,” said Adam.

UNECA projects that through nature-based carbon removal, Africa can generate between $15 and $82 billion annually, depending on the price of carbon. For example, at  $50 per tonne, the revenue potential from natural carbon sequestration removal would be $15 billion. Adam said the average price for carbon credit in Africa was currently about $10 per tonne, which could be raised with the creation of high-integrity registries.

Africa’s carbon market was not as well developed as many countries did not have a registry to measure carbon emissions and trade them.

Adam argued that a predictive carbon market would benefit African countries with long-term access to affordable energy.

Africa accounts for only three percent of cumulative global CO2 emissions and less than five percent of the world’s annual CO2 emissions. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) highlights that Africa has made the smallest historical contribution to the greenhouse gases causing global warming but bears the brunt of the negative impacts of climate change.

“African countries on average are spending nine percent of their budgets, that means for every $100 that governments are spending, $9 is being removed right at the onset just for paying for climate change,” Adam told IPS. “Essentially, climate change is putting a tax on African countries that is higher relative to incomes in other countries.”

Adam says Africa has crafted an energy transition plan to boost energy security using natural gas as a transition fuel, given that many countries did not have access to geothermal and hydropower that could also be used for baseload generation.

African countries, through the African Union, have adopted a common position for energy transition recognising natural gas as a temporary energy need with oil and coal being phased out and allowing for more investment in renewable energy, particularly solar, wind and geothermal.

No to gas

The African Common Position on Energy Access and Transition proposed for adoption by African Heads of State and to be launched at COP27 in Egypt this year comes on the back of the European Union’s recent vote in favour of a new rule that will consider fossil gas and nuclear projects as “green”.

The African Group of Negotiators (AGN) and the African civil society have opposed the plan. They worry it would detract from Africa’s energy access and transition goals while locking the continent into fossil fuels for decades.

“Africa is blessed with abundant wind, solar, and other clean, renewable energies. African leaders should be maximising this potential and harnessing the abundant wind and sun, which will help boost energy access and tackle climate change,” said Mohamed Adow, Director of Power Shift Africa.

Lorraine Chiponda, Africa Coal Network Coordinator, said the acceleration of gas projects in Africa was another colonial and modern ‘Scramble and Partition of Africa’ among energy corporations and rich countries.

While Omar Elmawi, coordinator of #StopEACOP, commented, “Africa needs to wake up and stop behaving like (it’s) Europe’s petrol station and always looking at resolving their (developed nation’s) energy problems. It is time to think collectively about what’s best for the continent and its people. This is a continent ripe with renewable energy potential.”

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By Alejandra Cuéllar
MÉXICO, Aug 31 2022 – Latin America is already one of the world’s regions hit hardest by the impacts of climate change. Extreme weather events such as droughts, heatwaves, tropical cyclones and floods have caused scores of deaths and severe damage to crop production and infrastructure, as underlined in a recent regional report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

As these events have increased in frequency and intensity, they have also driven millions of people to migrate. With the region’s average temperatures projected to rise at rates above the global average, these converging crises are expected to deepen in the coming decades.

As the UN’s next climate summit, COP27, approaches it is apparent that Latin America needs support from the global community. In a region beset by economic struggles, there have long been calls for financial tools that support multi-faceted efforts to combat climate change, at both the local and regional level – calls likely to grow ever louder after many were left frustrated by progress at last year’s COP26 conference.

But a concurrent shift in tone is being seen from some corners in Latin America ahead of the summit, set to be held in Egypt in November, with prominent voices calling on the region to play its own, increasingly assertive role in climate negotiations, and in driving climate action from home.

Climate impacts in Latin America

The WMO’s report exposes some alarming data on the impacts a warming world and changing climate have already brought upon Latin America. For example, glaciers in the tropical Andes have lost nearly 30% of their area since the 1980s, increasing the risk of water scarcity for populations and ecosystems in the region – and the risk of flooding for communities in proximity to them.

In 2021, sea levels in the region, specifically on its Atlantic side, also rose at a faster rate than the global average, raising the threats of flooding, freshwater contamination and storm surges in the coastal areas where a large portion of the population is concentrated.

The report also highlight’s Chile’s intensifying mega-drought, which has now entered its thirteenth year, making it the longest and most severe in a thousand years. The worsening drying trend is forcing its authorities to urgently improve water management, as tensions rise in some areas of the country, and address electricity supply issues to account for a shortfall in hydropower output – a source from which it has historically generated a sizeable portion of its electricity.

In South America more generally, droughts contributed to a 2.6% decline in the 2020–2021 cereal harvest, compared with the previous season, the WMO reports. Threats to the region’s agricultural – and by extension economic – output were compounded by heatwaves.

Upon the release of the WMO’s first edition of its “State of the Climate” report for the region in 2021, the WMO’s secretary-general, Petteri Taalas, had emphasised how Latin America and the Caribbean are “among the regions most challenged by extreme hydro-meteorological events” – an assertion only further underscored by this year’s update.

Taalas pointed to a number of recent extreme weather events, highlighting “the death and devastation from Hurricane Eta and Iota in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and the intense drought and unusual fire season in the Pantanal region of Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina.”

Notable impacts of these events, the secretary-general added, included “water and energy-related shortages, agricultural losses, displacement and compromised health and safety”, all of which “compounded challenges” of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the recovery from it.

Standing up in adversity

Latin American and Caribbean nations together account for less than 10% of global annual greenhouse gas emissions, with most of their contributions coming from the energy sector, agriculture and land use change. But in its increased exposure to extreme events and above-average rates of change, the region is bearing the brunt of larger polluters’ emissions.

However, a change in tone was notable among some attendees at the recent Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week, held in the Dominican Republic in July. Some experts were keen to assure that Latin America would not be entering upcoming climate talks simply as sufferers, but as active participants shaping the direction of action.

Max Puig, executive vice-president of the Dominican Republic’s National Council for Climate Change and Clean Development Mechanism (CNCCMDL), stressed that Latin America and the Caribbean will arrive at this year’s COP with a firm position. “The time to see ourselves as climate victims is over. Although we are, the time to take the helm of the ship has begun,” he said.

“It must be clear to our peoples and to the world that we are serious and that, even in the most difficult circumstances, we are not going to stop. We will overcome the difficulties. This is the message that Latin America and the Caribbean are taking to COP27 in Egypt.”

Some civil society representatives had hoped for more progress at the recent Climate Week, particularly ensuring that climate justice and human rights are put at the centre of discussions. But other figures were more positive about the event’s outcomes in building regional momentum – and steps towards consensus – ahead of COP27.

“After spending several days at this year’s Latin American and Caribbean Climate Week, I have seen that the countries of the region are making progress. I also saw the potential to accelerate climate action,” Ovais Sarmad, deputy executive secretary of UN Climate Change, told Diálogo Chino after the event’s conclusion. “We’ve heard a lot of potential solutions during this week.”

Adaptation, solutions and opportunities

Although faced with tremendous challenges, Latin America has also proven to be a hub for innovative solutions to climate change. The region has great potential in renewable energies such as wind, solar and geothermal. There have also been advances in the transport sector, particularly in electric buses in the past decade, and a nascent growth in the uptake of private electric cars, with nations increasingly looking to spark a broader switch to electric vehicles.

Latin America and the Caribbean have also demonstrated a wealth of solutions that promote adaptation and mitigation, many of which may be replicated in other regions according to needs and contexts. Many of these solutions have been seen in the agricultural sector, with some derived from ancestral knowledge and historic practices that promote better management of water, land and energy.

Practices that fall under the umbrella of regenerative agriculture are gaining increased attention in Latin America. Agroforestry for example, which integrates trees into agricultural systems, can enhance productivity, improve and increase biodiversity, and contribute to greater carbon sequestration. Meanwhile, the region’s coastal ecosystems such as mangroves and marshes are now being recognised for their potential to mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon, while providing a range of other benefits.

Forests are also Earth’s most vital sites of carbon sequestration, but face significant threats – perhaps nowhere more so than in Latin America, where biomes such as the Amazon, Cerrado and Gran Chaco have all witnessed vast deforestation in recent decades.

“With almost half of its area covered by forests, Latin America and the Caribbean represents about 57% of the world’s remaining primary forests, storing an estimated 104 gigatonnes of carbon. Fires and deforestation are now threatening one of the world’s largest carbon sinks, with far-reaching and long-lasting repercussions,” the WMO’s Taalas said at the launch of last year’s “State of the Climate” report. Despite notable progress and declarations at last year’s COP26, the monitoring and prevention of deforestation will likely remain on the agenda heading into this year’s summit.

The WMO’s 2021 report also stressed the need for strengthening early warning systems in Latin America. These are multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWS) that can warn people about extreme weather events and prevent millions of deaths. These are essential tools for effective adaptation in areas at risk from weather, water and climate extremes, but for many nations, as with many solutions, effectively implementing them may be reliant on increased finance – highlighting once more what is likely to be a key agenda item as Latin America looks towards COP27.

COP27 takes place ​​6–18 November in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

This article was originally published by ChinaDialogue