Addressing the nineteenth session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Ethiopia, COP28 president-designate Dr Sultan Al Jaber has shared his vision and priorities for the United Nations Climate Change Conference that will take place in Dubai at the end of the year, especially the need for adaptation financing and acceleration of the energy transition.

A partner to COP28, AMCEN brings together environment Ministers from across the continent and provides political guidance and coordinates policy positions among its member States, which include all 54 African countries. Ethiopia will chair AMCEN in 2024.

In his speech, Al Jaber highlighted the need for urgent action to put the world back on track to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and keep the ambition of limiting warming to 1.5 °C within reach.

“With just over 100 days before the world gathers in Dubai for COP28, both the science and common sense are telling us that our collective response to climate change is nowhere near good enough,” he emphasised.

Al Jaber outlined Africa’s position at the frontline of climate impacts, as well as its performance and potential as a leading force in the energy transition.

“When it comes to transitioning to an energy system free of unabated fossil fuels, Africa has many lessons for the rest of us. Here in Ethiopia, almost 100% of the country’s energy comes from renewable hydro power. […] across this great continent, a young and growing population is seizing the potential of other clean energy sources from wind to solar and choosing low carbon economic growth,” Al Jaber said.

However, he also acknowledged that a chronic lack of available, accessible and affordable climate finance is holding back Africa’s potential, noting that barely one-tenth of global climate finance finds its way to the continent.

As such, Al Jaber highlighted the urgent need to reform international climate finance.

“First, the international community must come through with the $100-billion pledge they made over a decade ago. I will continue to press donor countries to ensure delivery no later than this year […] Next, the entire global financial architecture from international finance institutions to multilateral development banks needs modernising. They were built for the second half of the last century. They urgently need to be upgraded to meet the needs of this one,” he emphasised.

Al Jaber was also clear on his call to action on loss and damage. “We must operationalise the fund and funding arrangements for loss and damage, and early pledges are vital to ensure we live up to the commitments made at Sharm El Sheikh [in 2022],” he averred.

In making these remarks, Al Jaber referred to a meeting of the Independent High-Level Expert Group (IHLEG) that united global economists in Abu Dhabi for two days of talks on August 15 and 16.  

The meeting set out crucial next steps to reform international climate finance. A detailed report, including a clear roadmap on how to implement recommendations, will be presented to world leaders at COP28.

Looking to the future and another significant moment to drive forward "fixing climate finance", Al Jaber also announced that the COP28 UAE Presidency will co-host the third Climate and Development Ministerial alongside the UK, Malawi and Vanuatu governments in the UAE on October 29 during the formal 'pre-COP' period.

During his visit to Ethiopia, Al Jaber also held bilateral meetings with African leaders to discuss the COP28 climate finance and energy transition agenda, including South Africa's Barbara Creecy, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.