By Jeff Kapembwa

Zambia has urged the Conference or Conference of the Parties (COP 28) planned for Dubai this November to deliver ambitious, balanced, fair and just outcomes and set the tone for a global response towards redressing climate change effectively.

Zambia had last November chaired the COP 27 hosted in Egypt’s shore city of Sharm El- Sheikh from November 6-18.

Despite various resolutions made chiefly by affected countries in various concerns including the availability of climate finance, and reduced emissions of gases from Green Houses, Zambia, as chair of the COP 27 is resolved to ensure the oncoming COP 28 in November this year polls through.

Ephraim Shitima Ministry of the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment Director Climate, whose country was tasked to amplify the voices of the ‘vulnerable countries grappling with climate change, seeks a quick fix solution to effectively address climate change multiple concerns.

Briefing delegates at the 19th ordinary session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment and Natural Resources (AMCEN) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Shitima, who is also Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN), stressed the essence of the COP28  outcome, guided by key determining principles.

The best available principles in science, principles, and provisions of the Convention and the Paris Agreement, chiefly the principles of equity and Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR & RC) are cardinal.

Speaking in Ethiopia ahead of the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference planned from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mr.Shitima reiterates the global call for all players to speak in unison.

The AGN’s commitment to safeguarding Africa’s interests in the climate negotiation processes remains cardinal and ensures affected countries benefit from the outcomes to be discussed and agreed upon this year as a measure of redressing some of the ‘loss and damage’ incurred as a result.

“We remain steadfast in our quest for fair and just outcomes from these processes,” Mr. Shitima said.

Mr. Shitima, however, is mindful that the COP27 decision recognises the need to address the existing gaps in the global climate over serving systems.

About 60 percent of African countries do not have access to early warning and emphasized the importance of grant-based financing for sub-Saharan Africa for enhancing mitigation and adaptation actions.

Africa intends to call for the adoption of an ambitious decision under the work programme on Just Transition pathways that strengthen the global climate response in the context of sustainable development and operationalise equity in the pathways for mitigation, adaptation, and finance under the Paris Agreement.

The decision is envisaged to take cognisant and further provide the policy space and support in consideration of the continent’s unique needs and development circumstances and urgent need.

“This should ensure a fair and equitable shift to a low-carbon and climate-resilient development. As a crucial facilitator of climate ambition, developed nations should make substantial financial commitments and address the outstanding deficit in the delivery of the promised USD 100B per year from 2020,” Mr. Shitima notes.

Zambia seeks to champion progress in reforming Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and make them more suitable for the climate challenges by enhancing scale, affordability, and accessibility with the necessary safeguards for developing countries in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) principles.

And Minister of Green Economy and Economy and Environment Collins Nzovu notes that while the Egypt meeting (COP 27), dubbed the “Implementing COP” with an official slogan: “Together for Implementation” succeeded in some aspects, more was needed for a pathway to allow countries to seek solutions to climate change.

COP-27 was also intended to take stock of the implementation of the provisions of the convention, the Kyoto Protocol as well as the Paris Agreement for the past year and also plan for the coming year.

The summit should assess whether the collective efforts by the international community through the revised and updated nationally determined contributions (NDCS) as they drive the climate crisis fight by ensuring that the goal to restrict the average increase in temperature to well below 1.5 Degrees Celsius was met.

COP 27 should have evaluated and followed up on the financial pledges made by developed countries.

This is to enable developing countries to address this challenge, particularly the pledges made in Glasgow in 2021 as well as the long-awaited US$100 billion by 2020, pledged at the Copenhagen conference in 2009.

It should recognise Africa’s ‘Special Needs and Special Circumstances,’ which still remain unresolved since 2015 at the Paris Agreement” dubbed: “The Sharm El Sheikh Implementation Plan”, was tasked to redress concerns for the non-availed loss and damage resources to compensate for the depletion caused by climate change.