* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Close to 45 of the 53 countries that make up the African Union arrived at the latest round of climate talks in Bonn having signed the much criticised Copenhagen Accord.
While many African nations acknowledge that the accord is not perfect, many have expressed their intention to be listed as signatories. But not Sudan, Zimbabwe, Niger, Cameroon, Sao Tome and Principe, Equatorial Guinea and Egypt.
Reports went round last week, particularly from the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, that developed countries were using money to lure rejectionists of the Copenhagen Accord.
I spoke to Ismail Elgizouli, one of the negotiators from Sudan and also acting vice chair of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), about this. He confirmed that some members from developed countries had asked them to sign the Accord - but he would not specify which country had tried to lobby them. Egyptian negotiator Mouhamed Nasr also confirmed that they were being lobbied to sign the Accord.
What has been particularly interesting about the attitude of these African countries is that for the first time in a long time, they don't seem interested in compromising their position for any amount of money.
The Sudanese negotiator argues that they have profound differences with the content of the Copenhagen Accord and those spear-heading it.
"We don't trust the World Bank for equity reasons," he said.
Sudan would prefer a fund to be created within the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change to manage climate funds. If it were hosted by the World Bank, he explained, Sudan would never be able to access it.
Elgizouli argues the existing channels of negotiation within the UNFCCC were not respected in Copenhagen.
"The process through which the Accord was reached was absolutely not transparent," he told me.
ADAPTATION, NOT MITIGATION, FOR AFRICA
He went on: "For us in Africa, the priority is adaptation and the long term financing is mostly for useful mitigation, which only big developing countries can have access to." To him, the Copenhagen Accord neglects adaptation in the long term.
I also asked the Egyptian delegation to explain why they were not signing the Accord.
"The Copenhagen Accord does not meet our expectation," Mouhamed Nasr explained. "We are suffering from drought and desertification. A 2-degree rise in global temperature is unacceptable to Africa."
While Sudan is staunchly opposed to the Copenhagen Accord, it is, however, ready to continue discussion to settle the sticky issues in negotiations toward a legally binding climate agreement.
It is understandable that the government of Sudan might oppose the Accord because of its differences with most Western countries, believed to be behind the indictment of Sudan's President Omar El Bashir for war crimes in Darfur.
However, it is harder to understand why countries such as Cameroon, Niger and Equatorial Guinea have not signed.
I met the representatives of Niger and Cameroon to ask them why. In the case of Niger, its lead negotiator, Tchousso Manhama, explained that it was due basically to the change in regime in his country. The military deposed President Mamadou Tambja last year in a coup. Manhama explained that they intend to sign the Accord once democracy is restored.
In the case of Cameroon, its chief negotiator at the climate change negotiations speculated that his country's refusal to sign may be a question of bureaucracy, adding that Cameroon may eventually sign the Accord even though it is imperfect.
'WHERE IS THE MONEY?'
I asked some of the negotiators from these countries if they were aware that they may not benefit from the money currently being raised for climate change adaptation, mitigation, and so on if they do not sign. The Sudanese representative boasted that they are proud of their decision not to be associated with the Accord.
"We think that we did the right thing because we are in the middle of 2010 (and) where is the money?"
Wealthier nations had promised to supply $30 billion in fast-start financing for the effort between 2010 and 2012.
The climate change negotiation process has not halted because Sudan and a few other countries have not signed the Copenhagen Accord. But judging by the aggressive manner in which the United States, for instance, is courting them, it is clear that all countries (small or big) are needed on board to make the process credible and respected.
David Akana is an associate editor of Pan African Visions, an online magazine marketing African success stories. He reports on environment and development issues and was in Bonn as a Climate Change Media Partnership fellow. The CCMP is an initiative of the Panos Network, Internews and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).
