Comment: COP27 Climate Change Conference: urgent action needed for Africa and the world
Lukoye Atwoli et al. The Lancet 2022.
Open Access. Published:October 18, 2022DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01986-9
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)01986-9/fulltext
HIFA Steering Group member Chris Zielinski is the corresponding author for this Commentary that is published simultaneously in many journals, including The Lancet. Below are very brief extracts for the benefit of those who may not have immediate web access:
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'Wealthy nations must step up support for Africa and vulnerable countries in addressing past, present, and future impacts of climate change...
'Although the Paris Agreement of 2015 outlines a global action framework that incorporates providing climate finance to developing countries, this support has yet to materialise...
'Africa has suffered disproportionately from the climate crisis, although it has done little to cause the crisis...
'The acute and chronic impacts of the climate crisis create problems such as poverty, infectious disease, forced migration, and conflict that spread through globalised systems...
'The primary focus of climate summits remains to rapidly reduce emissions so that global temperature rises are kept to below 1·5°C...
'But front-line nations are not compensated for impacts from a crisis they did not cause. This is not only unfair, but also drives the spiral of global destabilisation, as nations pour money into responding to disasters, but can no longer afford to pay for greater resilience or to reduce the root problem through emissions reductions...'
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Neil Pakenham-Walsh, Global Coordinator HIFA, www.hifa.org neil@hifa.org
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