Africa shouldn't need to beg for climate aid: Bank president

Africa shouldn’t have to beg for help in dressing climate change, president of African Development Bank said Tuesday, ding that polluting global powers “have to pay.”

Akinwumi esina told Associated Press in an interview on sidelines of African Union summit that financing promised to African countries to cope with consequences of climate change “needs to be put on table.”

Africa’s more than 1.2 billion people stand to suffer most from global warming while contributing to it least. region is also least equipped to deal with its effects, according to experts. Parts of Africa are warming at a faster pace than elsewhere, and climate experts have said warming Indian Ocean waters have contributed to

African hes of state are increasingly blunt about dangers ahe and need for rest of world, including top polluters such as China and United States, to step up and contribute to Africa’s efforts to apt.

“re has to be climate justice,” esina said.

African Development Bank is increasing its own climate financing to 40% of its total investments, he said, with such financing having doubled from $12.5 billion to $25 billion. Half of that money is for climate aptation.

“Africa shouldn’t be in a situation wherein it is begging,” esina said. “We are t going to deal with climate change by talking about it.”

Africa has 15% of world’s population, yet is likely to “shoulder nearly 50% of estimated global climate change aptation costs," bank said, ting continent has seven of 10 countries considered most vulnerable to climate change: Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ch, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea.

And yet “to date, energy-related CO₂ emissions in Africa represented around 2% of cumulative global emissions,” International Energy ncy said last year.

“Major emitting countries and industrial sectors have a particular responsibility" to act, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told African Union summit. “If y don’t deliver, all our efforts will be in vain.”

When asked about South Africa, sub-Saharan Africa’s most developed ecomy and one of world’s most dependent ecomies on coal, esina said nation isn't alone in such investments.

“I always hesitate when people try to blame Africa for what ors are still doing," he said. “ rest of world has invested in coal … all developed world has invested in coal. issue is, it is going to take time for m and ors to make energy transitions."

African Development Bank is longer going to “make a single dollar of investment on coal projects,” esina said. “But it is going to take time to wean mselves off that.” He said bank is investing heavily in renewable energy projects in countries like Kenya and Morocco.

A collection of African civil society groups last week urged African governments to end fossil fuel development and reject furr financing for such projects.

esina also discussed resource-rich continent’s growth, saying that “Africa has everything it needs to become a global superpower.""

“Our work is how we can help African countries to use se blessings. We are investing heavily in projects that help nations use ir resources, like in oil and gas and agriculture," he said.

One limited resource is water, and two of Africa’s most powerful nations, Ethiopia and Egypt, have been locked in a

two countries, along with Sudan, are set to continue negotiations this week in Washington.

“Anywhere in world where you have shared water resources, re are always tensions,” esina said. “I have every confidence that y will find mechanisms of equal sharing of this resource.”