COP31 adds three African priorities to its agenda
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on 3News
COP31 has added three African priorities related to finance and trade to the official negotiating agenda in Antalya, Turkey. African negotiators are calling for greater access to adaptation finance in response to climate risks, according to 3News.
African negotiators secured the addition of three further priorities to the official COP31 agenda on Monday, at the UN climate conference opened in Antalya, Turkey. The issues concern tripling adaptation finance, the needs of the Green Climate Fund and the effects of unilateral carbon and trade measures on developing economies, 3News reports.
The parties added the three points after discussions between heads of delegation. The African Group of Negotiators, chaired by Nana Dr Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, believes that implementing African climate plans depends on funding pledged by developed countries.
Negotiators from the Group of 77 and China also said that the ninth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility had decreased by 27% compared with the previous cycle, reaching its lowest level in 16 years. Several developed countries have also halved their signed contributions to the Green Climate Fund for the 2024-2027 period.
COP31 brings together nearly 200 countries for two weeks of negotiations. The opening comes as the World Meteorological Organization forecasts that 2026 will be among the four hottest years ever recorded and that an intense El Niño episode could keep temperatures high until 2027. Africa seeks three times more adaptation finance at COP31.
