Last week, COP 28, the largest climate gathering of global leaders to discuss how to protect the earth from accelerated warming began. As always, it was graced by people from all walks of life. However, this year’s summit recorded a substantial increase in attendance.
More than 97,000 participants have badges to attend this year’s Conference of the Parties (COP) in Dubai in person. This is almost twice the number that travelled to Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt for COP27 last year, the previous largest in an almost 30-year history of summits.
African countries have a notable number of participants at the conference, and this is understandable considering that the continent is the most affected by the adverse impacts of climate change.
However, a country like Nigeria has come under heavy criticism due to its 1,411-member delegation to COP-28. A review of the published list positioned Nigeria in the third position, trailing behind the UAE and Brazil among all the countries present at COP28.
While the Nigerian government claimed it did not fund all delegates from Nigeria, a fortune must have been spent on the trip. The public outcry is particularly heightened as the country grapples with economic challenges, ranging from a high debt profile to a diminishing revenue source. The economic situation is similarly challenging for many other African countries.
Countries such as China and America, with significantly higher GDPs and ranking among the largest global polluters, sent 1,411 and 700 delegates respectively. China boasts a robust economic value of $17.89 trillion, while America’s economic value stands at $26.95 trillion.
Nigeria’s GDP, for instance, is lower than that of 12 countries with fewer COP28 delegates, standing at $477 billion.
Here are 5 African countries with the largest COP 28 delegation and their GDP:
| Rank | Country | Total number of delegates | GDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigeria | 1411 | $477 Billion |
| 2 | Morocco | 823 | $134 Billion |
| 3 | Kenya | 765 | $113 Billion |
| 4 | Tanzania | 763 | $75.71 Billion |
| 5 | Ghana | 618 | $72.84 Billion |
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