The African Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) at COP28 have called for the tripling of renewable energy in Africa, more focus on adaptation and increased adaptation finance to the continent.
The organizations made the call at its meeting at the ongoing climate change conference known as COP28 in Dubai.
The CSOs, joined by representatives from affected communities, were led by 350.org, Power Shift Africa and ACCESS Coalition.
The African organizations demanded stronger language on commitments on fossil fuels, adaptation at COP28, as climate negotiations enters the homestretch.
The organizations urged the negotiators to push for an outcome that would yield a fast, fair and fully-funded transition from fossil fuels.
“The current fossil fuel-based energy system in Africa has failed to deliver energy access to the continent while leaving more than half a billion Africans energy-poor.
“The ongoing negotiations are happening against the background of crippling climate change events, including the historic floods currently being experienced in East Africa that have claimed more than 350 lives and displaced a million people in Kenya and Tanzania.
“The Horn of Africa region has been recovering from a drought that ended in April, billed by climate experts as the longest and most devastating in four decades,” the group said in a statement released on Sunday.
In their arguments, the civil society groups labelled the two per cent of about $60 billion investment received by the continent in the last decade for renewable energy development as unfair, unjust and unacceptable.
They called for a scale up to more than 15,000 GW by 2030 or an average of 1500 GW annually to keep the 1.5°C temperature target within reach.
To achieve this, they called for more political support and a shift in policy and investment.
