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The Congo basin the world's biggest tropical carbon sink, is at risk if defour station doesn't stop. Bold, urgent and innovative actions are needed to prevent forests from turning from carbon sinks into sources of emissions.
Without stable and the resilient and forest carbon sinks, the global goal or limiting temperature rise two one point five becomes untenable.
The report from scientists at COP thirty is the latest warning about efforts to tackle a climate crisis that is already hitting African nations hard.
Those who have contributed the least to climate change are paying the highest price. Our populations are hit by floods, extreme droughts, erosion and food insecurity. Meanwhile, the funding remain insufficiently fragmented, too often mistargeted.
Fag Monte Mazibli.
On today's episode of The Next Africa Podcast, we'll look at this threat to the Congo Basin, why saving it matters, and the state of the global response to climate.
Change in twenty twenty five.
I'm Jennifer's Abisaja and this is the Next Africa Podcast, bringing you one story each week from the continent, driving the future of global growth with the context only Bloomberg can provide. Our senior reporter Anthony Squisine, who's been reporting the story for Bloomberg News, joins us now along with our Bloomberg Opinion climate columnist Lara Williams. Thank you both for joining us this week. Really appreciate it.
Anthony.
Let's just start with you, because I believe you and I have actually been at a COP summit before, so you know, it's always interesting to sort of take a look at what we've seen in the past and where we're at right now. Brazil, though they've just heard this stark warning about the Congo Basin, maybe you can give us a bit of a detail about what exactly we're talking about here and what the concern is.
The Science Panel for the Congo Basin, which is a relatively newly formed group, has decided to use the COCK Summit in Belem to launch its first reports on the state of the Congo Basin, which my area is the second biggest tropical forest in the world, but it's actually the world's biggest tropical carbon sink, which means it absorbs more carbon than either the Amazon or the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, and they've just brought to light a
few warnings about the health of the region, the fact that deforestation is continuing a pace, and there were various other threats. And I spoke to the Special Envoy for the panel who estimated that it is a decade to turn things around. As what's happened to the Amazon, the region may become a net emitter rather than absorber of carbon.
Can you explain more about the importance of the Congo Basin. I mean, you walked us through a little bit there, but maybe you can contextualize it for the audience.
The Congo Basin is a very large area. It's a little bigger than in India in total, stretches from Nigeria to the Rift Valley in East Africa. In total, it absorbs about six hundred million tons of carbon diks at a year. That's the carbon DIX that's sucked in by trees from the atmosphere, So that's a climate warming gas that's being taken out of the atmosphere and stored in trees, therefore not contributing to the warming up of the planet.
That's quite big. That's equivalent to the annular missions of Germany. Which is a relatively large emitter. In addition to that, it has wetlands called peatlands, which store semi decomposed material and in those peatlands there are thirty billion tons of stored carbon, So it's pretty major. That's from a common perspective. In addition to that, it's a very large tropical forest area and that regulates rainfall and climates across a much
broader region of Africa. So areas as far afield as the Sawhill in West Africa and the highlands of Ethiopia depend on what happens in the Congo basin where their own rainfalls to regulate their own rainfall seasons every year.
Wow, and we've already seen swings and uncertainty and inconsistencies as far as some of the other countries go. So, Anthony, what exactly is driving deforestation in the Congo And how would you say it's different than what we're seeing elsewhere in the Amazon, for instance, in the.
Congo basin is very different from the Amazon and Southeast Asia where agriculture is well to a certain extent, is very commercial. So these these massive plantations being run by big companies and we're see jungle being raised for soybean farms or palm oil plantations in the Congo Basin and really specifically the Democratic Republic of Congo, which accounts for about two thirds of the forest area of that forest region. There's a lot of subsistence agriculture where farming methods haven't
changed in hundreds or perhaps thousands of years. So every year a family will go out and they will burn down and clear perhaps a hecta of jungle and then you know, plant crops in that area. Now that's problematic in that it's trimming back the jungle, meaning the trees can no longer absorb carbon. But it's also creating emissions in that it's burning all the spio mass, and that
in itself is problematic. So it's quite a hard thing to get a handle on because there are millions of people involved in subsistence agriculture in the region and to change those practices is quite difficult, especially given that a lot of the governments in these countries are not that well run. They're fairly chaotic countries. Some of them are plagued by conflicts, especially in the DRC, and it's a big, big issue try and turn that situation around.
Lara let's just bring you in here. When you know you've been following COP quite closely. How serious is this warning being taken?
Yeah, well, I think it's particularly salient for this top which is you know, being held at the edge of another tropical rainforest, and in the opening statement the terrelation of rainforest nations, which I think encompasses most if not all, of the countries in the condo basin. You know, they took the opportunity to kind of urge action on deforestation, and so yeah, I think at this particular TOP, reports
like this our front of mind. One of my sources at COP told me that he is particularly impressed with how many people are talking about bio diversity in nature, which isn't always the taste at climate crops. You know,
often the focus is more on energy. But you know what makes TOP COP is that you've got most of the countries in the world there, there's a lot of computing objectives, and so while there is a sense of urgency and people are taking reports like this seriously, doesn't necessarily mean that Regenera do at the action that we really really want.
Right, which is always the concern, Anthony, from your sources on the ground, there in Belam. How seriously are they taking this morning.
I think that they're really looking for a big bank. You know, this is how important the congurvation is. I mean, this is, as Laura said, taking place at the HB Amazon, which is probably the world's best known tropical forest. I'm just saying, hey, this is also very important and things need to be done to preserve its role in regulating the international climates. So I think that's what they're aiming for. We'll have to see what the reaction is where they
get much traction. You know, they've laid out very solutions, a lot of which are as ever, are pleased for more climate finance or money to be planned plot into sustainable development. So far we haven't seen a huge amount. I know that there has been a fund setup for the Amazon itself, and while they're in some plages, it's well shortened. The initial target.
Stick with us both. When we come back, we'll talk more about what this report is telling us about the climate emergency in Africa and where any support is coming from to try.
And actually tackle it.
We'll be right back. Welcome back. Today on the podcast, we're talking about the stark warning about the future of the congo basin delivered at this year's COP summit. Lara Williams and Antony's Cuisine are still with me. Now before we dig more into the solutions, Antony, I wonder, if you know, it's been a few days that CoP's been
underway in Belem, does this one feel different? I mean, Lara was pointing out the location of this, and I wonder, though, with the previous cops that you've covered, does it seem like there's at least a bit more urgency coming out from the sources and the people that you've been speaking with.
Well, I think it's a mixed picture. I mean, the resurgency given that the states of the global climate interior rating and you know, we're closer and closer to missing our targets to limit global warming, So there is that. But on the flip side, you know, we have the US which is not at COP and a slashed funding and is advocating more and more drilling for hydrocarbons. So I think it's really a very mixed picture, and it's hard to say it's going one way or the other.
Lara, what would you say, Yeah, I'd say, you know this this top has also faced some logistical problems being held at you know, the edge of a tropical rainforest, and so it's much smaller than previous drops. That's not necessarily a bad thing. And you know, I think you guys have been to drops before and I'm sure you've felt the same kind of joy and hope. You know, there's something about the atmosphere, a crop just you know,
everyone being there altogether. I have heard, you know, sources talking about about that sense is still there even though
it is smaller. But yes, definitely, the US's absence is kind of looming large though that is a sense that that actually you know, could be better than them being there, you know, considering that they're they're now almost to the right of Saudi Arabia, who have consistently been a bit of a sticking point in COP negotiations, and so maybe there's a bit of a relief that they don't have
to deal with the US. Is like bullying tactics in the neotiating rooms, and I think there is I know from the Brazil presidency they really want to stress and make this a cop for multilateralism, and so we've seen that already with you know, there could have been in a fight over the agenda of cop and that was resolved very quickly. But we are still early days. I'm talking to you now and there's only been one full
day of substantive negotiation. So we'll have to see if that spirit of multilateralism continues.
Yeah, especially in a world like we're in in twenty twenty five, Laura, when we look at the major emitters right of the world, who sort of would turn the dial? I mean, who should we be focused on, because we are obviously talking about the Congo basin today. Are some of the remedies that we're looking for on the African continent or is it some of these people who are maybe not present.
Yes, I mean it's definitely people who are not present. China. China does actually have I know, there's not many senior people from China there I believe, but they do have the second's largest delegation at crop after Brazil, so you know they are they are there, and there was a new story this week about their emissions being either stable or coming down. So so China, could you know, step up and be a solution I guess a part of
the change. I guess In terms of Africa, I think it's about avoiding We want Africa like lot, there's lots of countries in Africa that are you know, still developing, and we want them to develop in the in a green way and kind of stip the coal fossil fuel stage that all of the developed countries dot to do through. And so key for that is getting climate finance from you know, the lights of Europe, the richer countries in order to help stale up the solutions in African countries.
And just on that, Anthony, where where are some of the debates around climate finance and the solutions that you were just speaking to earlier.
Well, I think the African continant is really pressing for a switch away from so called mitigation, which is reducing emissions by investing heavily and renewable energy and things like that.
Because Africa doesn't really produce a lot of emissions. Its big problem is that it's catching the brunt of global warming, so you know, typhoons, drafts, floods, and so it wants more money for adaptation, which is you know, strengthening infrastructure, putting in place early warning systems for weather disasters, and a host of other things, even including sea walls, to create you know it's basically cope with rising sea level, and that's been a hard area to attract finance too,
because it's very hard to get a financial return out of So that has really been the focus we really need to focus on. That climate change is here already, it's effecting the continent and money needs to be spent to protect the citizens of Africa from being affected as hard as they are.
Is there hope, you would say in more capital being channeled towards some of those adaptation measures, then.
Well, I think there've been a number of initiatives in recent years in terms of, you know, trying to set up specific funds and trying to steer more of the spend by the developed world towards adaptation rather than mitigation. But I think also we're in a climate where the US is cut back massively on climate finance, and the overseas development fund budgets of most of the rich nations such as the UK, in Germany, Scandinavian nations has also
been slashed. So no, I think it's a very difficult time. There's no the messages being made loud and clear, but there's a limited pool of capital to be spent.
Yeah, of course, and Lara, maybe you can just finish us off. What's your expectation for the end of this COP especially as it pertains to the African continent. Do you think we'll actually see a joint communicate and potentially addressing some of these issues that we've spoken about.
That's a great question, and I wish I had a crystal ball. I know that adaptation is a massive topic at this PROP and so what I would hope to see. What I would love to see is yes, a kind of joint communication on it. And I'm kind of global target for adaptation because I don't think we even have one of those yet, So that's what I would love to see. I can't say if that is what I will see, because props can be very surprising.
Yeah, I can say yes to that one, definitely. Lara Williams and also Anthony's Cuisine. Thank you both so much for joining us this week, and you can read Anthony's report ord along with our coverage from COP thirty across Bloomberg platforms. Now here's some of the other stories we've been following from across the region this week. South African Finance Minister Enoch Goodonguana delivered his budget update to lawmakers in Cape Town on Wednesday, presenting an improved macroeconomic outlook
and plans to revise the country's inflation target. And Nigerian billionaire Aliko dan Gote told reporters in the Zimbabwean capital Harare that he plans to invest as much as one billion dollars in the southern African nation. You can follow these stories across Bloomberg, including the Next African Newsletter. We'll put a link to that in the show notes. This program was produced by Adrian Bradley and tiva Adebayo. Don't forget to follow and review this show wherever you usually
get your podcasts. But for now, I'm Jennifer's Apisaja. Thanks as always for listening.