As world leaders meet in Azerbaijan this week for COP29, I urge them to think of the communities I work with in Malawi. Our small south-east African state is being relentlessly battered by the brutal impacts of climate change. Over the past five decades, Malawi has experienced more than 19 major floods and seven droughts. The frequency and ferocity of these floods and droughts is increasing, culminating with Cyclone Freddy in March of last year, which killed 679 people and forced 659,000 people to flee their homes.
Freddy was the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded and it produced the most energy of any cyclone on record globally, but what’s more terrifying is the pattern of extreme weather patterns being experienced in Malawi.
Freddy followed on the heels of Cyclones Ana and Gombe in 2022 and the devastating Cyclone Idai in 2019. In addition, there have been numerous droughts, with some regions yo-yoing between drought and wind/flood damage from cyclones in the same season.
The impact of these extreme weather events is amplified by the fact that Malawi is primarily a rural society and rain-fed agriculture is the backbone of communities. Anything which affects crops has a significant impact on food security and livelihoods in a country where 80 per cent of the population is employed in agriculture.
I remember carrying out damage assessments in southern Malawi in the days after Cyclone Freddy tore through. It was distressing to find submerged fields which weeks previously had held a bumper growth of sorghum, almost ready to be harvested. Other fields of crops were flattened by the force of the floods – the crops washed away or destroyed. Some villages were cut off and were only accessible by canoe.
The scale of the devastation caused by these events is difficult to describe to people in Ireland, where the reality of climate change may not have struck home yet. But what should be clear is that Malawi – one of the poorest countries in the world, which produced just 0.04 per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions last year – is bearing the brunt of a warming planet.
Concern Worldwide, in conjunction with the Malawi government and communities, is working to help communities adapt to this ominous challenge. This includes the roll-out of climate-smart agriculture programmes (using both climate-resilient seeds and farming techniques), the use of nature-based solutions such as afforestation to help reduce the impact of floods, and the development of early warning systems. But this work needs to be funded and Malawi is one of the world’s poorest countries.
There should be a significant public, grant-based funding component to allow the money to flow to people exposed to climate impacts.
The people of Malawi and many of the world’s poorer countries will pay close attention to outcomes of negotiations at COP29.
Dubbed the “finance Cop”, global leaders are due to agree a new global finance goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions, boost resilience, help communities adapt to the impacts of climate change and cover the costs of loss and damage. The New Collective Quantified Goal (NCGQ) will replace the existing $100bn (€94bn) annual goal that is due to end next year.
It’s vital that this goal must be fit for purpose and sets, within the wider mobilisation goal, a public finance provision target of at least $1trn per annum in grants and grant-equivalent terms. Wealthier countries have a clear obligation, under the Paris Agreement, to provide funding to address the challenges.
For this new goal to succeed, the new climate finance commitment must be sufficient to meet the needs of countries impacted by climate change. It must cover adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage, and be accountable for delivery. Furthermore it must ensure quality and accessibility of finance.
There should be a significant public, grant-based funding component to allow the money to flow to people exposed to climate impacts. Anything less than this will condemn communities in Malawi and many other countries to an even greater struggle to grow sufficient food, sustain livelihoods and continue living in regions experiencing the escalating impact of climate change.
This article was originally published by the Irish Independent on 12th November 2024. You can view the original here.