Stakeholders at the just ended African Regional Conference on Loss and Climate Change have decried unequal distribution of funds meant to assist African countries in the mitigation of the impacts of climate change.

They observed that there is a funding imbalance between African and western countries when it comes to access to funding for climate change interventions.

Reads part of the communique: “We demand that parties must provide new and additional short and long-term finance, based on the needs of the peoples of the Global South, balanced between mitigation and adaptation (with an immediate step of fixing the broken commitment of delivering the inadequate $100 billion in public finance by 2020).”

The delegates, who have been deliberating for the past four days in Lilongwe, observed that despite African countries contributing little to global warming, they are being side-lined especially on the Green Climate Fund.

“We demand that Global Climate Fund, the Adaptation Fund, and other fund mechanisms conform to evidence on gender and accessibility.

We strongly call on parties to settle on the definition of Climate finance no later than COP27 as provided in Article 9 of the Paris Agreement without further procrastination,” reads the communique.

Whilst expressing excitement for hosting the conference, Malawi government said African nations need to seriously work on addressing their own challenges through implementing the agreed action points.

Deputy Director of Environmental Affairs in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Michael Makonembela, said government is satisfied with the meeting.

“We have the resources in Africa, why can’t we make use of what we have to address our own problems instead of waiting and waiting for something that isn’t coming forth,” said Makonembela.