US and Egypt announced that they will donate $150 million for Africa's adaptation to climate change, 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) presidency announced on Friday.
During, COP27 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the support package was announced at a special session on 'Advancing Adaptation Action in Africa' co-hosted by H.E. Sameh Shoukry, COP27 President, and United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry.
According to the announcement, $13.6 million will be used for a Systematic Observations Financing Facility that will help fill weather, water, and climate observation gaps in Africa.
In addition, $15 million will support the co-development and deployment of early-warning systems in Africa to cut the number of people who need emergency assistance in half by 2030 - and from 200 million to just 10 million by 2050.
Around $10 million will be used to support the capacity building of Africa’s current and future decision makers.
'This includes $10 million to support the launch of a new adaptation center in Egypt – the Cairo Center for Learning and Excellence on Adaptation and Resilience, announced by Egypt, to build adaptation capacity across Africa,' the announcement read.
Commenting on the latest financial aid, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, stated that US is completely committed to working together with the partners to support vulnerable communities in their efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
'Climate change is something that everyone whether in developed, developing or emerging economies are impacted by. 'unprecedented' investment in clean energy is needed to limit warming to 1.5°C and avert catastrophic climate impacts on communities worldwide,' he said.
He also added that 'annual clean energy investment must triple to $4.2 trillion by 2030' with over half of that investment needed for emerging and developing economies.
By Gulsen Cagatay and Nuran Erkul Kaya in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt
Anadolu Agency
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