Not enough resources to fight climate change in DR Congo: report

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International funding is not enough for the Democratic Republic of Congo's vast rainforest to play its role in the fight against climate change, according to a report published Tuesday by two research groups.

The Democratic Republic of Congo, a country five times the size of France, is home to more than 60 percent of the Congo Basin – the second largest tropical rainforest in the world.

“The country, rich in strategic natural resources, is positioned to play a leading role in the fight against climate change,” said the report by New York University’s Congo Studies Group and Congo’s Ebuteli Institute.

“Although the Democratic Republic of Congo is encouraged to mobilize its natural resources such as its forests and transition minerals to combat climate change, it receives very little climate finance in return,” the report continued.

Between 2016 and 2020, the Democratic Republic of Congo's National Fund to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation received less climate funding than expected.

According to data consulted by AFP, the state agency was able to receive only $220 million of the expected $1.1 billion.

“The Democratic Republic of Congo urgently needs significant capital capable of meeting the needs of the most disadvantaged populations weakened by the perverse impacts of climate change,” the report said.

To increase climate finance, the country must establish “good governance, an appropriate business climate, socioeconomic and political stability and a transparent regulatory framework.”

The lack of climate finance, coupled with donor opposition to logging and oil extraction, is fueling allegations of an “international conspiracy against the Congolese state,” the report said.

According to the World Bank, the Democratic Republic of Congo is among the five poorest countries in the world, with nearly 75 percent of Congolese living on less than $2.15 a day by 2024.

“An additional 16 million people could be pushed into poverty by 2050 unless the country implements climate-resilient investments and additional inclusive policies to achieve economic growth and sustainable livelihoods,” the World Bank said in a statement in November 2023.

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