Having loss and damage on agenda discussion not a success at any COP, African and Caribbean CSOs urge for a listening ear

Sharma El Sheikh, November 10 2022: Having or leaving out loss and damage on agenda discussions at the Conference of the parties (COP) should not be viewed as a success, groups of organisations have warned. Instead, they want delegates to analyse and take action on pertinent issues the call on loss and damage raise.
Organizations namely the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, the SEI, ODI, IIED, ISMUN and SCCS flagged this on the sidelines of the ongoing 27th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Sharma El Sheikh in Egypt.
“Africa is literally burning and drowning at the same time as the COP is holding, yet it is also a poor continent with poor infrastructure which exposes her to more vulnerabilities. The west should not make it illegal the asking for financing of loss and damage to avert the vulnerabilities in the face of Disaster strike,” said Augustine B Njdamnshi, PACJA Cameroon.
He warned participants of COP27 that having Loss and damage on agenda discussions does not mean the success. “We need conclusion on addressing loss and damage and what we need are finances of losses and damages that are happening. This is frustration of the continents that has done nothing,” he said.
A youth representatives from Africa and Caribbean said demands for financing of loss and damage should not be construed as begging on the part of the Africa and developing nations. “It is a just call for reparation for losses and damages caused by developed countries over the GHGs emissions,” she said.
Different parts of Africa are facing serious climate change effects including drought and flooding. In Ethiopia, for example, heavy downpours in July and August left at least 250000 people affected. 75,000 people are displaced while 59 schools, 21 health facilities, and 36 water supply points/schemes in 10 woredas damaged in Afar region.
Ndjamnshi said Africa needs polluters to pay for loss and damages. “We don’t need to take someone to jail and Africa doesn’t need sympathy,” said Augustine.
Galdibe Tumal Orto, is one of thousands of pastoralists in Marsabit County, Kenya who lost all his livestock due to severe drought devastating the east and horn of Africa especially Northern Kenya.
When he narrates the ordeal, he went through after losing his herds of camels and sheep you realize the picture of pastoralists who have been suffering for the last 5 years. He says that the last three COPs have not provided solutions for loss and damage and that this one should be different.
“From this COP, solutions must come from the table of discussions,” he insisted.
Far in the west of Africa, Nigeria witnessed the most devastating episode of seasonal floods in a decade, causing over 603 reported deaths, more than 2,400 persons injured and over 1.4 million displaced.
About 82,135 houses have been damage, 332,327 hectares of farmlands destroyed. As of October, last month, over 200,000 homes had completely or partially been destroyed by the floods. In one of Nigeria’s states, Anambra, on 7 October, a boat carrying people fleeing floods capsized on the Niger River, causing 76 deaths.
Jiata Ekelle, comes from a region affected by the flood She said that polluters must bear responsibilities of losses and damage. “The issue of Loss and Damage is a matter of life and death. People die from these flooding. Millions go hungry due to tons of crops and livestock been lost. We must get compensation.”