Global Journal of Science Frontier Research, H: Environment & Earth Science, Volume 23 Issue 5

Climate Vulnerability, Justice, and Financing Nexus: A Case for Optimizing Climate Interventions Gordon Kofi Sarfo-Adu α & Henry Kwabena Kokofu σ Abstract- This study sought to examine the key constraints that affect climate financing; notions of climate justice and injustice as well as how global climate finance can effectively be deployed to meet the coping requirements of vulnerable spaces and groups. The study sought to design a comprehensive framework that will guide stakeholders in the climate finance and climate justice space to help in their research and practice. The study was framed within the qualitative approach and deploys the critical stage review by synthesizing from secondary sources of data. Key indicators were originally elicited in their unclassified form which was subsequently organized into a three-point framework. In other words, effective climate financing that takes into account climate justice requires ‘’ Systems approach’’; ‘’Verification mechanisms; and Equity ‘’philosophy’’ which we have used to design the ‘the SAVE framework’ well discussed in the paper. We conclude that finances flowing from the rich economies to poor and vulnerable regions are only a starting point for effective climate actions, the efficacy of the process depends on the commitment to identify the real vulnerable people and areas; commitment to expend the requisite resources appropriately; the technical capacity to effectively enforce interventions followed by quality assurance measures through sound evaluation and corrective measures. Keywords: climate actions; interventions; coping; vulnerability; climate justice; equity. I. I ntroduction he Paris Climate Agreement and the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, encompassing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), were both adopted in 2015. The objective of these global schemas has been to have a global system that has low-carbon imperatives as well as being climate-resilient in its quest to attain sustainable development. Despite these ratifications and agreements, many countries have been extremely slow as they still are engulfed with serious challenges in their effort to embark on measures and interventions to enforce these agreements (UN, 2019). Another factor that has led to the snail-paced progress has been the pussy-footing posture by countries who although have proposed commitments in Nationally Determined Contributions but have not close to the goal of global temperature to less than 2 ◦ C (H¨ohne et al., 2020; Climate Action Tracker, 2021). The main challenge that affects Parties in their determination to enforce some of these interventions and NDCs has been the issue of finance and inadequate resources. McDonald et al. (2021) report a statement by the President of the COP26, the 26th UN Climate Change Conference who averred “Unless we get finance flowing, we cannot and will not see the action we need, to reduce emissions, to adapt, and to rise to the growing challenges of loss and damage” (p.1). Climate finance has been the missing link affecting transitions towards climate resilience, low carbon, and enforcement of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of Parties, especially those in the developing world. According to Yeo (2019), such a transition to climate-resilient because such transition would require huge sums of dollars to transform these aspirations into actionable programmes. For example, the IPCC has projected that at least US$ 830 billion in investments would be required between 2016 and 2050 to plummet the incidence of global warming to 1.5 0C by the year 2100 (Masson- Delmotte et al., 2018). Despite the centrality of finance in meeting objectives of climate resilience, ownership of climate resilient actions calls for alignment between donor countries’ finance and recipient countries’ priorities, including their focus on mitigation versus adaptation (e.g., UNFCCC, 2017; Bouy´e, Harmeling & Schulz, 2018). As a recent example, it is worth quoting the COP26 President, who, in the aforementioned conference, stated, “Finally, a major concern on [climate] finance is improving accessibility. An indicator of the current state of affairs is the low level of finance making its way to the most vulnerable nations” (Mott McDonald et al., 2021, p.7). There has been particular attention to the developing world because these people are vulnerable and their poverty levels affect the adaptation to climate change, coping mechanisms, and efforts at deploying climate-resilient interventions (Brown, 2011). Although developing countries are the worst hit by climate change impacts, mitigation, and adaptation measures tend to be hampered by inadequate financial resources (Islaim, 2020; Brandstedt, 2019). Meanwhile, T © 2023 Global Journals 1 Year 2023 17 Global Journal of Science Frontier Research Volume XXIII Issue ersion I VV ( H ) Author α : Forestry Commission Corporate Planning Manager. e-mails: gsarfoadu.hq@fcghana.org /gsarfoadu@gmail.com Author σ : Environmental Protection Agency Executive Director. e-mails: henry.kokofu@epa.gov.gh /kkhenry2002@yahoo.com