President Macky Sall's candidacy for the office of UN Secretary-General places the financing of climate action among its priorities. From one summit to the next, the pledges repeat; the payments follow at a distance.
An injustice from the start. The countries that weighed least in emissions face the droughts, the floods and the lost harvests first. They repair damage they did not cause, with means they do not have.
Pledges faster than payments. The climate finance target announced more than a decade ago was met late and counted generously. The fund devoted to loss and damage was opened, then endowed with a fraction of what the damage already suffered demands. Between the announcement and the transfer, a growing season is decided.
Adaptation as much as reduction. Finance goes first to projects that cut emissions, rarely to those that protect people already exposed. A country that emits almost nothing has no emissions to cut; it has embankments to build and harvests to save.
What the Secretariat can carry. The Secretary-General does not sign the cheques. He can convene states, keep a public account of the commitments made and the sums actually paid, and remind the world that finance announced but never paid has protected no one.
Experience in multilateral negotiation. Twelve years as head of state and the chairmanship of the African Union in 2022 underpin these commitments. That experience explains why the vision statement filed with the United Nations frames its proposals as obligations: peace, security and development conceived together; a renewed multilateralism; stronger governance of the Organization.
Africa at its heart, the world in its sights.
The climate finance commitments made at the United Nations are public. Read all public positions at www.mackysall.net