Exaggerated perceptions of the continent’s credit risk makes it difficult to attract development finance
IF COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022 was the much-hyped “COP of Africa”, what will the upcoming COP28 in Dubai, UAE, in December 2023 mean for African climate action aspirations?
The UAE COP28 presidency has set out its priorities, “a Solutions and Inclusive COP”, albeit in a global climate action discourse beholden to almost daily unfolding events, among them the subdued post-Covid and Ukraine recovery; the downside risks of global economic fundamentals, such as sticky inflation and foreign direct investment flows; and geo- political tension, especially the tragic Israel-Palestine conflagration which has claimed an estimated 15 000 lives and which will inevitably be the great climate detractor in the Dubai deliberations, given the…