Africa deserves a fair shake at upcoming climate summit: Maguire

Africa deserves a fair shake at upcoming climate summit: Maguire

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)

LITTLETON, Colo - The upcoming United Nations climate summit comes at a time of unprecedented high-level support for reducing global use of fossil fuels, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine snarled global flows of gas, coal and fuel and sent power prices soaring.

But as climate bigwigs gather to hash out how to reduce emissions across the planet, care must be taken to ensure every major region is properly equipped with both the funding and the know-how to tackle the enormous challenge of rapidly reducing emissions while sustaining vital economic momentum.

The COP27 meetings in Egypt will be the fifth COP (Conference of the Parties) in Africa. At the tip of the world's fastest-growing continent, its location acts as a reminder for policymakers - all countries must be able to come along for the decarbonisation ride without being burdened by constraints that may drain government budgets, thwart industry and halt job creation.

PRIMED FOR GROWTH

So far this century, Africa has produced the lowest amount of cumulative carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of any region, accounting for just 3.6% of total global CO2 discharge during the 2000-2021 period, according to data from the 2022