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UN predicts Africa will be $2.5 trillion short of climate finance by 2030

Published

2 months ago

March 5, 2024

According to a United Nations official, Africa has contributed the least to greenhouse gas emissions but is suffering some of the worst effects, adding that by 2030, the continent would lack $2.5 trillion in funding to deal with climate change.

During a seminar in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, head economist, of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Hanan Morsy, warned about the repercussions of underfunding clean energy, pointing out that Africa only receives 2% of global investments in the field and needs $2.8 trillion by 2030.

“We end up in a vicious circle with investment shortfalls increasing exposure risk and worsening impact, further eroding fiscal space, and raising finance costs,” she said.

Climate change costs African countries 5% of GDP yearly, even though their emissions are lower than those of other continents, according to Morsy.

According to joint UN-African Union research released last year, each African produced 1.04 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions on average in 2021—less than a fifth of the global average. According to the paper, during the period of 1991–2022, the average rate of warming in Africa was 0.3 degrees Celsius each decade, while the global rate was 0.2 degrees.

“The situation is further compounded by heavy public debt,” Morsy said, adding that African countries pay 1.7 percentage points higher interest on debt than other countries.

“Countries are spending more on servicing their debt than on climate action.”

“We must address the issue of unfair risk perceptions and credit ratings that offer Africa limited borrowing options,” UNECA Executive Secretary Claver Gatete said.

Citing data from the UN Development Programme, he calculated that Africa was losing as much as $74.5 billion due to the subjectivity of credit ratings.

Related Topics:Climate Finance Featured UN

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Nigeria received $1bn tax income from Shell in 2023

Published

15 hours ago

May 8, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Shell Nigeria, a multinational oil company, claims that through the operations of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company of Nigeria Limited, it exclusively paid $1.09 billion in corporate taxes and royalties to the Nigerian government in 2023.

According to the numbers released in the recently released 2023 Shell Briefing Notes, SNEPCo remitted $649 million, while the SPDC paid $442 million.

Similar payments made by the two firms in 2022 totalled $1.36 billion, according to a statement from Abimbola Essien-Nelson, the company’s manager of media relations.

“These payments are Shell exclusive and do not include those made by our partners,” said SPDC Managing Director and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor.

Okunbor explained, “Shell companies in Nigeria will continue to contribute to the country’s economic growth through the revenue we generate and the employment opportunities we create by supporting the development of local businesses.”

He continued by saying that Shell has been an investor in Nigeria for more than 60 years and that the Briefing Notes provide an update on the state of the companies’ operations in Nigeria for 2023, including SPDC, SNEPCo, Shell Nigeria Gas, and Daystar Power.

He claimed that the studies demonstrated how the businesses kept driving advancement, collaborating closely with communities and stakeholders to support socio-economic growth and offer more affordable, environmentally friendly energy options.

“It is important to emphasise that Shell is not leaving Nigeria and will remain a major partner of the country’s energy sector through its deep-water and integrated gas businesses. Our collective focus remains on delivery of safe operations and care for our people,” Okunbor maintained.

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Zimbabwe’s new gold-backed currency now official unit of exchange

Published

1 day ago

May 7, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Zimbabwe’s Treasury says that the newly introduced gold-backed currency is the official unit of exchange for transactions. It also stated on Tuesday that laws requiring businesses to utilize the official rate would be released soon.

The Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) has been stable on the official market since its inception in early April, but it has had a shaky start on the black market, where dealers are demanding a premium of 65% of the official rate to purchase dollars.

Additionally, some stores are charging customers who pay in the new currency—while the ZiG is being rejected by informal traders—a premium over the market rate, which is fixed at ZiG 13.6 per US dollar.

“To ensure orderly pricing, the Government will soon be introducing the necessary regulations to ensure that no exchange rate other than the official rate will be used for the pricing of all goods and services,” Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said in a statement.

Since the ZiG’s inception, the government has been working to keep it afloat; this month, officials launched a campaign against unlicensed foreign exchange dealers.

Zimbabwe, located in southern Africa, abandoned the Zim dollar last month after it lost 70% of its value since the beginning of the year. This is the country’s fourth effort to introduce a local currency in ten years.