(MENAFN- The Conversation) Since it was set up in 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has focused mainly on mitigation. Mitigating the effects of climate change is all about transitioning away from fossil fuels to renewable energy, improving energy efficiency and setting up new forests to absorb greenhouse gas emissions.

But this hasn't worked; greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise. The impacts of climate change, such as drought and floods, are escalating in frequency and more intensity. The financial costs of paying for the damage caused by extreme weather events are cascading out of control.

Read more: African countries shouldn't have to borrow money to fix climate damage they never caused – economist

These realities have meant that the government of Brazil, as this year's Conference of the Parties (COP) president, has made climate adaptation a top priority. Adapting to climate change includes building climate-resilient infrastructure, planting drought-resistant crops and finding different ways to harvest and save water.

Globally, countries decide for themselves how much they will mitigate climate change by cutting their greenhouse gas emissions. They share these national targets publicly, and update them every five years. At the annual COP conferences (COP30 is currently happening in Brazil) governments meet to see if the world is making any progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. So, mitigation remains central to their discussions. However, all countries acknowledge that global mitigation efforts are inadequate.

As a result, global climate talks are now turning to how action against climate change will be funded, and how countries can deal with the impacts they are already experiencing.

Read more: Land is Africa's best hope for climate adaptation: it must be the focus at COP30

At this week's COP30 global climate change conference, expectations are high that the conference will deliver on adaptation finance, especially for countries that can't afford to adapt to extreme weather. It's also expected to come up with a standard way to measure how all countries are making progress on adapting to global warming.

The fact that world leaders at COP30 are placing adaptation at the top of the agenda sends an important message. It shows support for the many global efforts already helping countries adjust to climate change.

One example is the Global Adaptation Network, which helps countries deal with climate impacts by sharing useful knowledge for adaptation.

Another example is the Global Center on Adaptation, which aims to speed up adaptation efforts worldwide. It focuses on communities hardest hit by climate disasters and promotes new and practical solutions.

I'm a climate change policy analyst and have been a negotiator for South Africa and Africa global climate negotiations for over 10 years. Climate action specialist Basanda Nondlazi and I set out to examine the performance of the African Group of Negotiators on climate change in global negotiations.

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This group is a“block” of the 54 member states of Africa that negotiates Africa's best interests in a number of multilateral environmental agreements. It was established to speak with a common and unified voice for the African region, and is a recognised party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Africa has caused the least climate damage but suffers terrible effects. Also, almost all African countries emit very low levels of greenhouse gases. That's why adaptation has always been a top priority for the African Group of Negotiators in climate negotiations.

If Africa's adaptation efforts are to bear fruit, the continent needs climate adaptation finance, skilled people and technology. Without this, African countries' climate negotiators can agree to meet certain climate goals, but they won't be able to afford to do this work.

How to push forward climate adaptation for Africa

At COP30, the Africa Group of Negotiators is strongly focused on advancing negotiations on targets under the global goal of adaptation that have been part of negotiations for the past two years. These targets include:

• making sure that everyone still has enough water

• supporting farming and food supply

• improving health services to cope with climate disasters

• protecting nature

• making buildings and communities safer

• helping people make a living despite climate disasters

• preserving cultural heritage and traditional knowledge.

Progress on these targets is tracked through four themes: looking at risks and impacts, planning what to do, putting actions into practice, and checking results to learn and improve.

Read more: African countries gear up for major push on climate innovation, climate financing and climate change laws

A group of 78 experts has been working on 100 standard indicators. They're expected to be adopted by COP30 and then will be used by all countries to see if they're making progress on meeting these targets.

Adopting these indicators would show national governments and international partners that countries need more climate finance to make real progress on adaptation.

Read more: Climate adaptation funds are not reaching frontline communities: what needs to be done about it

It would be a huge diplomatic success if COP30 agreed on a standard set of measures to track whether countries were truly adapting. But for Africa, the real measure of success is putting adaptation into practice so that people can thrive and survive in a warming world.

Without climate adaptation finance, skilled people and technology, the indicators would be of little practical use, and would in fact highlight the gap between global agreement and on-the-ground capacity to respond to climate change.

What the African Group of Negotiators needs to do next

The group knows too well that applying any of the indicators in their countries will be very difficult if they don't secure enough climate finance to fund the adaptation projects. Until now, Africa has not been able to secure enough climate adaptation finance, and is projected to be US$2.5 trillion short by 2030.

The African Group of Negotiators knows that agreeing to standard global indicators is vital for making real progress on adapting to climate change. This means they have to make sure that each indicator fits Africa's diverse situations and doesn't become an unfunded mandate (something they have committed to doing but don't have the finance to make happen).

Read more: Five ways in which finance for climate adaptation in Africa falls short

Without funding, the indicators would be a useful tool that most African countries won't actually be able to use. This would represent victory of process (the world agreeing on standard ways to measure progress in adapting to climate change) over reality (pragmatism).

The African Group of Negotiators also can't block the indicators, as doing so would be seen as blocking adaptation – the most important way African countries protect ecosystems and societies.

For over 10 years, the group has presented a united African position at COP. Now, they need to make their voice louder. By working with other developing countries at COP30, they can increase the chance that adaptation indicators are adopted with the funding needed to implement them.

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