The question of loss and damage on the menu of Pre-CoP 28 and the forum on just transitions of Enda Energie
ENDA ENERGIE organized a preparation session for non-state actors and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) on Monday November 20, 2023 in Dakar in preparation for the 28th United Nations Conference (COP28) on climate change which will take place on November 30. November to December 12, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The objective of this session is to collect the expectations and priorities of these stakeholders, and share with them the challenges of the next COP. The discussions mainly focused on the issue of loss and damage, which will be one of the key topics of the COP28 in Dubai.
In clear terms, Enda Énergie organized a Pre-CoP 28 and a forum on just transitions aimed at deepening understanding of the key issues of COP 28. Indeed, the Global Review highlights the urgency of increasing ambitions to overcome to the harmful effects of climate change. The Pre-CoP 28 held by Enda Énergie made it possible to decipher these issues and formulate inspiring recommendations for negotiators.
“Ahead of Pre-CoP 28, non-state actors laid the groundwork during the Climate and Energy Week in Saly, putting forward key recommendations for the operationalization of the Fund on loss and damage, the effectiveness of climate finance and the integration of community priorities in just transitions,” recalled Enda Énergie in a press release sent to the press.
Speaking on this issue, Aïssatou Diouf, head of international policies and advocacy at Enda Énergie explained that, “when we talk about losses and damage, we are talking about irreversible losses due to the impacts of climate change and these are losses that we are already experimenting in Senegal but also in most African countries. We can note slowly evolving events which lead for example to droughts but also extreme events such as floods which can sweep away everything in their path, even leading to loss of human life, the advance of the sea with its consequences... Apart from these material losses, we can also note intangible losses linked to culture, history, habits and customs.
Remember that this issue has occupied a central place in the negotiations for several decades and it was only in 2022, within the framework of COP27, that “we obtained recognition that we must move towards a financial mechanism to enable countries vulnerable to be able to answer these questions related to loss and damage.
According to him, the challenge for this COP28 is to see how to finance this mechanism, who will finance it, which will be the contributing countries, the countries which could benefit from it? “For us in civil society, all countries that are vulnerable and experiencing these impacts linked to loss and damage must be able to benefit from this financial mechanism,” she clarified.
For the head of international policies and advocacy at Enda Énergie “it is important that this mechanism is very accessible both for States and for affected communities. This is why it was important for us to collect the opinions and contributions of civil society organizations so that once in Dubai, we can influence the Senegalese negotiators but also from the Advanced Means Countries (LDCs), of the African group of negotiators but also of the G77 and China so that, during the two weeks of COP28 negotiations, the priorities and expectations of the communities of the affected countries can be taken care of”.
Referring to the position of the least advanced countries, Ms. Diouf said that “the LDCs are clear. Today, it is recognized that these are the most vulnerable countries but also the poorest. Therefore, it is important that all LDCs can benefit from the financial mechanism for loss and damage. It is also important that access is facilitated because today, if we see the criteria of the financial mechanism, access can last a very long time before seeing the disbursement of funds. It is therefore urgent to have criteria that are harmonized, easy and very accessible to all LDCs and that the process so that this funding can reach the States concerned very quickly.
Particular emphasis was placed on understanding and appropriating the issue of just transitions, aiming to co-construct appropriate trajectories for socio-economic development.
On this point linked to the just energy transition, Aïssatou Diouf suggested that “we are at a turning point where we must change the model, move towards low-carbon development that is resilient to climate change. This implies new modes of operation. Moving towards a just transition is important to the extent that, if we say that we must gradually turn our backs from fossil fuels to renewable ones, there will be workers who would be impacted. The question will be how we could ensure that, in this transition towards clean energies, we can take into account these people who live from work connected to fossil fuels, that we do not forget them, that we don't leave them stranded. This means it is a process. A transition is built, it does not happen overnight. All the actors should be able to dialogue, exchange, take into account the positions of each other, see how we integrate it into a long-term process so that the expectations of States, communities but building a fairer, more sustainable world can also be a reality. This is also valid for an agroecological, ecological and energy transition. In short, transition is a process that takes time. We therefore need an inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders to properly build this transition to renewable energies.
Asked whether Senegal should exploit its oil and gas to finance this energy transition, Aïssatou Diouf recognizes that Senegal has made a lot of effort in the energy mix, with between 29 and 30% of renewable energies in the mx. An example for Africa. According to her, there are even certain developed countries which have not reached this level of share of renewable energies in the energy mix. But Senegal can do more since our country has the capacity to do more and it must do more. “It is not because we have discovered oil and gas that we must stop making efforts in the development of renewable energies. Remember that fossil fuels are finite energies and that today we have the opportunity, even if Senegal exploits oil and gas, to be able to take part of the profits or financial resources resulting from exploitation of this oil and gas to strengthen the share of renewables in the energy mix. What does that mean ? This means that Senegal will not just focus on the development of gas and oil while forgetting about renewables,” she added. Continuing her speech, she added that it is very difficult today to “ask a developing country which has discovered gas and oil, even in a context of climate change, not to exploit it because it are development issues, economic issues to which the country must respond. But let's not forget that we are in a climate emergency context. This means that we must make long-term decisions and therefore continue to invest in renewables.
Source : #Moctar FICOU / VivAfrik
