African countries demand payout over climate

• The lobbies said the “climate debt” must be paid through deep emissions reduction, transfer of technology as well as financing to enable developing countries follow a less polluted pathway.
• The Pan African Justice Climate Alliance (Pacja) said the emissions were burdening Africans.
• To avert a climate catastrophe and enable technology transfer to developing countries, the organisation proposed that rich nations must make available 1.5 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product.

African lobby groups have intensified pressure on developed countries to honour their pledge of compensating their developing counterparts for polluting the environment.

The lobbies said the “climate debt” must be paid through deep emissions reduction, transfer of technology as well as financing to enable developing countries follow a less polluted pathway.

At a news conference on the sidelines of the ongoing UN climate change talks in Doha, Qatar, the Pan African Justice Climate Alliance (Pacja) said the emissions were burdening Africans.

“We call on developed countries to acknowledge that they have already used more than a fair sustainable share of the earth’s atmospheric space,” said Mr Mithika Mwenda, Pacja’s Coordinator.

“The outcomes to be agreed at the Doha climate change talks must thus ensure that developed countries address their historical responsibilities and debts, while implementing the Kyoto protocol,” he added.

To avert a climate catastrophe and enable technology transfer to developing countries, the organisation proposed that rich nations must make available 1.5 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product.

The developed countries, he said, must also cut their climate debt by reducing their emissions by more than 50 per cent by 2017 and by more than 100 per cent before 2050.