The Secretary of State for Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Paula Coelho, said on Sunday in Baku, Azerbaijan, that Angola has a national climate policy, which identifies a set of actions to create resilience and promote low-carbon development.
Taking stock of the COP 29 Conference, which only ended yesterday, she explained that in order to achieve this goal, the means of implementation are needed, namely finance, technology and training, which will make it possible to implement these actions, emphasising that this will only be possible if there is actually funding available.
Paula Coelho also said that the lack of consensus on some key issues at the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 29) meant that a series of consultations to approve consensual decisions were being discussed until the last day of the event, with a focus on those linked to climate finance.
‘There is a figure defined by the developing countries, which is 1.3 trillion dollars a year. However, between the 100 billion a year agreed in 2009 and the current proposal there is a very big difference and this has intensified the negotiations in search of a satisfactory figure that the parties agree on,’ she explained in statements to Jornal de Angola.
For Angola, the Secretary of State emphasised, COP 29 is a conference with its own set of challenges, with a strong focus on financing, and which aims to approve a set of decisions, the ultimate goal of which is to increase financial flows for climate action.
‘It’s important not to lose sight of the fact that, according to the principles of the Convention, the countries historically responsible for greenhouse gas emissions must take the lead in providing official development aid and creating conditions conducive to other flows, such as loans, guarantees and other equally important mechanisms,’ she emphasised.
Regarding access to climate finance with criteria already defined, Paula Coelho clarified that countries need to be a contracting party to the Convention (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, and be a developing or least developed country.
‘In the meantime, it is necessary to develop policies, projects and programmes that are eligible for funding under the financial mechanism of this Convention and its legal instruments,’ she stressed.
She reiterated that the countries historically responsible for greenhouse gas emissions should always take the lead, being primarily responsible for financial contributions to the Convention’s financial mechanism funds. ‘Other countries and organisations that are in a position to voluntarily contribute can also do so without any hindrance or obligation,’ said Paula Coelho.
Participation of Angola
Angola participated in the COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, with a high-level delegation led by the Vice-President of the Republic, Esperança da Costa, who spoke on 13 of this month at the World Leaders’ Summit on Climate Action.
At the time, addressing the various heads of state and government, Esperança da Costa considered it essential to make further efforts to increase funding, and create mechanisms to monitor and ensure that the funds promised are met, as well as to fully operationalize the Loss and Damage fund, identifying simplified and efficient access mechanisms for financing developing countries, which are most affected by climate impacts.
Overall, according to the Vice-President of the Republic, Angola had a positive participation in COP29, where it was able to “well position” its concerns regarding the implementation of the Determined National Contributions, the commitment to the Paris Agreement, and the issue of existing funding limitations.
Source: Jornal de Angola
