What Africa wants from the Rio+20 summit

Put your money where your mouth is, will be Africa's message at major UN talks on sustainable development that begin in Rio de Janeiro this week.

The region's common position calls for a definite outcome and a quicker method of implementing the decisions agreed at the Rio+20 summit between June 20 and 22.

Leaders from up to 130 countries including several from Africa are expected to sign a new agreement to put the world economy on a stronger growth path with an emphasis on a green economy, a challenge given rapidly growing populations.

More than 26,000 delegates have reportedly registered for the talks.

The Africa Consensus Statement agreed on by ministers as an AU assembly in Addis Ababa also calls for the fulfilling of previous pledges made to the continent widely acknowledged to be bearing the brunt of climate change.

In the statement drafted in October, African leaders agree that the continent is responsible for driving its own sustainable development agenda and say their countries have established or strengthened their institutions to support this but says talks alone will not suffice.

"We emphasise that Rio+20 must focus on delivering on the means of implementation. There are several critical gaps undermining the fulfillment of international commitments on the achievement of sustainable development in Africa,” it says.

According to the position which was also debated last week on the side-lines of the conference, the areas identified include finance, external debt, trade investment, capacity-building, and technology transfer.

The statement lists a package of international pledges and support which are to be urgently met by the developed countries including the allocation of 0.7 per cent of their GDP to developing countries in the framework of official development assistance.

African countries want this to be met together with the target of 0.15 per cent to 0.20 per cent of gross national income for least developed countries.

They also want the summit to force developing countries to meet the commitment of doubling aid to Africa by 2010 as articulated at the Summit of the Group of Eight, held at Gleneagles in July 2005.

An urgent solution to the debt problems of developing countries is also on the wishlist, as is the full implementation of the Bali Strategic Plan for technology support and training.

A development-oriented and equitable outcome of the Doha Round would also be particularly welcomed.