South Africa to seek tripling of adaptation funding by 2035 — Daily Maverick

South Africa will seek to establish a target for tripling climate change adaptation funding by 2035 at the COP31 climate conference in November. Other priorities for the country include the practical implementation of the global goal on adaptation and sufficient funding for loss and damage, Daily Maverick reports.

Consequences of floods and the threat of drought

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister David Mnyer said adaptation and building resilience are among South Africa’s main priorities. According to him, Africa accounts for only 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, while countries on the continent suffer severe consequences from storms, floods and droughts.

In January, historic floods in the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces claimed at least 30 lives, damaged thousands of homes and caused billions of rand in damage to infrastructure. Four months later, floods in the Western Cape province resulted in the deaths of 11 people, the displacement of more than 200,000 residents and losses for the agricultural sector.

As the publication notes, the developing Super El Niño could bring a hotter and drier summer with droughts, wildfires, water shortages, food insecurity and heat-related illnesses.

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Application to the loss and damage fund

South Africa has submitted an application for $20 million to the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage to restore conservation landscapes linked to Kruger National Park that were affected by the January floods. In total, 119 countries have submitted more than 170 funding applications to the fund.

Maesela Kekana, deputy director-general of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, noted that available resources fall substantially short of the needs related to ongoing loss and damage. South Africa will also seek to raise funds from other financial institutions outside the mechanisms of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Assessment of global climate action

The second Global Stocktake of the implementation of the Paris climate agreement is due to begin at COP31 — a two-year process for assessing countries’ progress that is intended to influence the next round of nationally determined contributions. Mnyer said the assessment should cover not only emissions reductions, but also climate finance, technology transfer, capacity building for developing countries, and responses to loss and damage.