The US " Washington Post " website published an article titled "How to Not Talk to Africa about Climate Change" on November 9. The author is Nigeria President Mohammadu Buhari. The full text is excerpted as follows:
Some parts of Nigeria are flooded. Seasonal flooding is common in Nigeria, but not as it has been recently. 34 of Nigeria's 36 states were affected, with more than 1.4 million people displaced. Climate disasters in Africa, along with the famine caused by drought in the Horn of Africa, frequent wildfires in the north and waves of intensifying cyclones in the south, form the background of the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) held in Egypt this year.
△On October 20, in Bayersa State, Nigeria, where the flood was hit, local people traveled on a boat.
Many of my peers are disappointed by the hypocrisy and lack of responsibility in the West. Western governments have repeatedly failed to meet their commitment to provide $100 billion in climate funding each year, which is used to help developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change. Although the COP27 agenda points to the need to compensate for losses and damages, unlike funds for mitigation and adaptation to climate change, the West is basically silent on this requirement.
I want to make several suggestions to Western negotiators on this year's COP27. These suggestions could help the West avoid exacerbating what the UN Secretary-General calls an "ambient of distrust" that shrouds the world.
First, Fuguo should use a larger share of funds to help developing countries adapt to the impacts of climate change. Most of the funds are currently flowing to mitigation projects.
Second, don't tell Africans that they can't use their own resources. If Africa uses all its known natural gas reserves (the cleanest transitional fossil fuels), its share of global emissions will only increase from 3% to 3.5%.
We are not the problem. Don't say to Africa that the world can't bear the climate cost of hydrocarbon , and then enable coal-fired power plants when Europe feels energy shortages. This gives the impression that your citizens have a better right to electricity than Africans.
3, when you realize you need African reserves, don't exclude African citizens from the benefits.
The development of the West has caused climate disasters on our continent. Now, the green policy of rich countries stipulates that Africans should remain poor for greater benefit. What’s even more unfair is that the hydrocarbons in Africa will eventually be mined - just not for the sake of Africans.
Fourth, follow your own logic. The West told Africa that the decline in renewable energy costs means it must jump over the carbon emissions industry. But at the same time, Western governments are actually providing subsidies to their citizens so that they can burn more hydrocarbons.
Africa is the closest continent to achieving carbon neutrality . It has the right to incorporate resources on its land into its energy structure. It is not Africa that causes the trouble, but it is us who pays the price. At this year's meeting, this should be the starting point for all negotiations.
