SA and other developing countries could be sidelined from shaping the very global climate finance plan intended to support them.
With just three weeks to go before the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, SA’s chief negotiator, Maesela Kekana, has warned that while the trillion-dollar Baku-to-Belém Roadmap is on the summit’s official agenda, no time has been allocated for actual negotiations.
That means developing countries, which are supposed to benefit from the finance, may have little to no say in how it is structured, governed or implemented.
“We believe that the final roadmap needs to be shaped by various inputs from all the delegations and the negotiators. We appreciate the work done by the COP presidency … but for us to finalise that work, we believe that we must make inputs,” Kekana told Business Day in a sideline interview during SA’s national stakeholder consultation in Johannesburg on Monday.
The Baku-to-Belém Roadmap, adopted at COP29, charts a path toward a new global climate finance goal of $1.3-trillion (about R23-trillion) annually by 2035 - a sharp increase from the about R300bn pledged by rich countries last year.
The goal is to support developing countries such as SA in implementing low-emissions development pathways and national adaptation plans through grants and concessional, nondebt finance.
Developed countries are largely responsible for the climate crisis, yet it is developing countries that pay the highest price. Africa contributes the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for less than 4% of cumulative historic emissions.
“The roadmap needs to have clear target like short, medium and long term. But if you look at what is on the table now, it’s not structured as such. So we believe that if there’s space created we can make useful inputs into the final roadmap,” Kekana said.
“This year’s conference is not only symbolic, it is decisive,” said forestry, fisheries & environment minister Dion George in his keynote address.
“The world must move from promises to practice. Every decision in Belém must come with a plan for implementation, financing and accountability. COP30 must deliver real outcomes for the planet, for vulnerable communities and for future generations,” he said.
SA’s top COP30 priorities
- Adaptation
COP30 is expected to finalise a framework for measuring global progress on adaptation. Adaptation is a priority for Africa and SA, as the country is already experiencing climate-linked disasters ranging from floods to heatwaves and unseasonal snowfall.
“[COP30] is actually deemed as the adaptation-COP, because we had a two-year work programme for adaptation and it’s concluding this year,” Kekana said.
“We need to conclude that particular programme … where we’ve discussed the issue of indicators to measure progress on adaptation. It has to be successful.”
- Nationally Determined Contributions
There needs to be a clear path forward for adaptation, Kekana said. The summit will mark a decade since the Paris Agreement and will be the deadline for countries to submit their next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) — the climate targets that determine whether the world stays within the 1.5°C threshold.
SA’s own updated NDC is ready for submission but awaiting “government bureaucratic processes to be concluded”, Kekana said in his address. The minister described the new NDC as SA’s “fair contribution to the global effort while staying true to our national priorities of reducing inequality, unemployment and poverty.”
- Loss and Damage Fund
After “huge progress” in the Loss and Damage Fund, which opened to contributions at COP29, “now is the time to implement”, Kekana said.
For SA, the fund’s success is crucial. Access to the fund could protect sectors such as agriculture and water resources, ensuring long-term climate resilience.
“This is the COP that will start those discussions [on implementation],” Kekana said.
marxj@businesslive.co.za
