The African Union and Russia have expressed joint commitment to fostering connections in the field of climate action.
The commitment to work together was made after the Chair
of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change and Special Climate Envoy
of the President of the Republic of Kenya Ali Daoud Mohamed visited Moscow.
During the visit, Mohamed had official talks with Aide
to the President of the Russian Federation and Special Presidential
Representative on Climate Issues, Ruslan Edelgeriyev, and Deputy Prime Minister
of the Russian Federation, Alexander Novak.
Others he met were Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
of Russia and Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation
for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov and Chair of the Committee on
Climate Policy and Carbon Regulation of the Russian Union of Industrialists and
Entrepreneurs (RSPP) Andrey Melnichenko.
The parties discussed the current state of the
international climate agenda and potential approaches to more equitable climate
target setting, the outlook for the global carbon market, and the need to
confront trade barriers introduced under the pretext of climate action.
Edelgeriyev highlighted
that despite the challenges in the global climate negotiation process, Russia
remains committed to promoting all Paris Agreement provisions that aim to lower
the cost of greenhouse gas emission reductions, including the global carbon
market, affordable climate finance and just technology transfer.
In line with
that, Novak noted that the transition to a low-carbon economy should be fair and
gradual, accounting for different national circumstances and development
priorities.
“Both green and
conventional energy can and should coexist and complement each other. Switching
away from fossil fuels is not the only way to reduce emissions. A truly fair
transition cannot be based on a ban on investments in fossil fuel projects,” Novak
said.
Following the
meeting with Novak, the parties agreed to prepare a joint work plan to enhance cooperation
between Russia and the African Union in the field of climate action involving
business communities from both sides.
During the visit, Mohamed pointed to the fact that the current global approaches to climate policy unjustly benefit some countries, disregarding the needs and concerns of others.
“It is
noteworthy that the historical contribution of Africa to greenhouse gas
emissions is only about 3 per cent of all accumulated anthropogenic emissions.
Yet, African countries are under pressure to set more ambitious climate targets
and to refrain from using their abundant natural resources” Mohamed.
He stressed that Western countries are largely responsible for the accumulated amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Currently, the average European still emits
much more per person than an African or Latin American.
“This should be reflected in the countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement. A fair approach to NDC setting should derive from a fixed global emissions budget divided across all countries based on an equal right for development for all people, i.e. on a per capita basis," Mohamed said.
The Russian side
welcomed Mohamed's proposal to update the approach to NDC target setting.
Mohamed also
expressed concerns over climate-related trade barriers such as the European Union
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (EU CBAM), noting that such policy tools
discriminate against African exporters and
create an unfair situation when high-emitting countries demand payments
from low-emitting countries.
Melnichenko agreed that the global climate agenda is
in crisis and emphasized that it is more important than ever to advance climate
diplomacy and jointly promote equitable approaches to global climate policy.
He noted that the interests of Russia and Africa in
the field of climate fully converge.
“Combining the voices of Africa's 1.4 billion people
with the capabilities of Russian diplomacy, science, and technological advancements
could strengthen the push for fairer principles in the international climate
agenda”, he said.
Melnichenko also noted that carbon market mechanisms
on a global scale are not operational yet, limiting the effectiveness of
climate action.
“The development of the climate project sector will
allow for reducing millions of tonnes of net CO2-eq. emissions per year.
Russian developers of climate projects have both willingness and expertise to
cooperate with Africa,” Melnichenko added.
The Russian side also presented the interim results of
the Russian National Climate Monitoring System aimed at advancing the data on
the country’s greenhouse gas fluxes. According to Melnichenko, science should
play a key role in shaping and promoting countries' positions globally:
“Our ecosystems absorb twice as much CO2-eq. as
previously thought. Russia is proving to be a much ‘cleaner’ country, and this
should be leveraged in international climate negotiations”.
Mohamed expressed interest in the African countries obtaining reliable data on emissions and removals on the continent and indicated that
this could become one of the flagship areas of cooperation with Russia in the
field of climate.
