African leaders call on Western nations to meet climate change pledges

African leaders said categorically on Tuesday at the World Leaders Climate Action Summit (WLCAS) in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital, that they are taking steps to reduce carbon emissions but will be unable to meet climate goals without funding from wealthier nations, News.Az reports citing foreign media.

“We cannot reach our climate goals alone, we call on our global partners to honor their commitments ensuring accessible concessional financing for sustainable development in Africa without unsustainable debt,’’ Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo said.

Addressing the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP29 summit, Akufo-Addo said his country has planted 50 million trees and undertaken forest restoration efforts covering 721,000 hectares of land since 2017, aiming to cut emissions by 64 million metric tons by 2030.

He noted that achieving this target requires investments of $10-15 billion, but despite financial and technical challenges, Ghana is committed to meeting Paris Agreement goals across agriculture, transport, forestry, and energy, among other sectors.

He said Ghana encourages electric vehicle use and has raised $800 million through carbon credit trading with countries like Switzerland and Sweden.

News.Az