By Habitat Media Reporter
Antalya, Türkiye: Greenpeace Africa has urged governments attending the United Nations climate summit, COP31, to take urgent action to phase out fossil fuels and end forest destruction as the world faces an impending breach of the 1.5°C global warming threshold.
The organisation says governments must use the summit to agree on concrete measures to limit the extent and duration of the anticipated temperature overshoot.
The call follows a warning by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that the world is on course to exceed the 1.5°C warming limit, raising concerns over the effectiveness of international climate commitments.
Greenpeace Africa says COP31 must move beyond incremental negotiations and deliver decisive action to address the worsening climate crisis.
Dr Oulie Keita, Executive Director of Greenpeace Africa, said African communities, despite contributing far less to historical global carbon emissions, were bearing some of the most severe impacts of climate change.
“The Global North spent centuries turning the atmosphere toxic. Yet, it is African communities, whose historical carbon footprint is far lower, who are absorbing the most brutal shocks of the climate crisis,” she said.
Keita called for public, multi-year and grant-based climate finance instead of loans that increase the debt burden of African economies.
She also urged governments to introduce progressive taxes on the fossil fuel industry and make corporate polluters contribute towards addressing loss and damage affecting vulnerable communities across the continent.
Fred Njehu, Greenpeace Africa’s Pan-African Political Strategist, said governments could not address the anticipated temperature overshoot while continuing to depend on fossil fuels.
He cautioned against promoting what he described as dangerous distractions, including clean coal and fossil gas as transition fuels in Africa.
“True climate leadership at COP31 means committing to a sovereign, fast, and fair transition that scales renewable energy to at least 75 per cent by 2035,” Njehu said.
He also called for enforceable protection of existing forests, including those in the Congo Basin, and urged governments to ensure climate finance reaches Indigenous and local communities through grants.
Jasper Inventor, Head of the Greenpeace COP31 delegation, said the world had made numerous climate commitments but was running out of time to prevent the 1.5°C overshoot.
He urged governments to use the Antalya summit to translate climate diplomacy into practical action rather than making further promises whose implementation could take years.
“Every fraction of a degree matters, and every year of delay makes the consequences more severe. We need a fast, fair and funded transition away from fossil fuels, an end to forest destruction, urgently required climate finance for developing countries, and to make those most responsible for the climate crisis pay their fair share,” Inventor said.
He added that any agreement falling short of scientific recommendations could not be considered a breakthrough, regardless of the number of countries endorsing it.
Ahead of COP31, Greenpeace Türkiye activists displayed a giant banner bearing the message “COP31: KEEP 1.5°C ALIVE” at Konyaaltı Beach in Antalya.