This was said by David Abudho, director of Oxfam Climate Just Lead Africa, during a pre-summit forum ahead of the Africa Climate Summit, which was held in Ethiopia this week. He noted that African governments should improve grassroots capacity to implement climate initiatives, emphasising the importance of national, clarified and strengthened measures, which will trickle down to the district and community level. “Climate financing should go where it will benefit communities, and it should be accessible to all people, particularly frontline communities,” he said. He further said that while many funders have readiness programmes for governments, institutions and organisations, it is still important to capacitate local community projects to ensure they develop bankable projects. He also said that there are some corrupt African countries that take climate funds but do not use it for what it is intended for, which calls for a strong culture of accountability around climate funding. “To avoid corruption and maladministration, there should be consideration of direct funding to ensure the money reaches communities,” he said. Africa feels the brunt of climate impacts despite contributing just 1% to global emissions. And Africa is the least prepared for climate shocks. Drought, floods, and heat waves are becoming more frequent and health outbreaks are now a norm. In most cases, it is women who bear the brunt of climate impact, yet financing doesn't often reach them, Abudho noted.
He pointed out that women are often disadvantaged by institutional, cultural and social barriers. He said African governments should prioritise ‘gender transformative' programmes as part of climate finance agendas. “The first step is to address the building blocks and this includes improving policy, protocols and frameworks, and ensuring that there are inclusive and dedicated programmes that consider women,” he said. Abudho also called for a culture of accountability for climate funding. He said 80% of funding is from international organisations and Governments should share with citizens how this funding is used. He emphasised that there should be “awareness of what is involved when it comes to climate funding and how that money is used to improve people's lives.” Ambassador Gamal Hassan, director of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Centre for Climate Adoption and environmental protection, noted that it's important to ensure greater investments towards enhancing climate resilience to climate impacts, adding that the IGAD Climate Adoption strategy 2023-2030 supports strengthening capacity, mainstreaming climate action and improving climate knowledge. Findings by climate research institutions indicate that Africa is currently faced with a huge funding gap, overwhelming debt burdens, limited capacity for bankable projects and weak institutional and policy frameworks.
