Africa Climate Summit: Non-State Actors Demands and Red-Lines

As Non-State Actors, we are deeply concerned about the impacts of the climate crisis on our continent and its people. We are witnessing the devastating effects of droughts, floods, cyclones, desertification, food insecurity, displacement, and conflicts. We are also aware of the historical and current responsibilities of the developed countries in causing and exacerbating this crisis and their failure to provide adequate support to the most vulnerable countries and communities.

The Africa Climate Summit, scheduled for September 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya, is a unique opportunity for the continent, through its leaders, to raise the urgency of addressing the climate emergency and protecting the rights and livelihoods of its citizens. It is also an opportunity to build momentum and solidarity for the African agenda at COP28 and beyond by highlighting African countries’ common interests and aspirations in achieving a low-carbon, climate-resilient, and inclusive development.

We have been steadfast in advocating a just and equitable transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future that respects the rights and dignity of all people.  In the past several weeks, we held direct and indirect engagements with the Kenyan Government, the African Union Commission and the larger ClimDev-Africa Initiative under the aegis of an independent Non-State Actors’ Committee, which was established to ensure that the summit reflects the voices and aspirations of African people.  Despite these engagements and the evidence provided by the latest science, we are worried that the summit may fall short of these aspirations.

Therefore, we have formulated a set of demands or redlines that we expect the African leaders to uphold and champion at the summit.

1. Stand by the principles of climate justice, human rights, gender equality, and intergenerational equity in all climate policies and actions. We reiterate that climate policies and actions measures should not only aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change but also to ensure that they are consistent with the principles of climate justice, human rights, gender equality, and intergenerational equity. Therefore, we demand that all debates and decisions at the Summit must:
2. Respect, protect, and fulfil the human rights of all people, especially those left vulnerable and marginalised by the effects of climate change, such as indigenous peoples, women, children, persons with disabilities, and poor communities.
3. Promote fair, just and equitable distribution of the benefits and burdens of climate action, both within and between countries, taking into account historical responsibility, capacity, and different levels of development.
4. Empower women and girls as agents of change and leaders in climate action, ensuring their full, equal, and meaningful participation in decision-making processes at all levels and addressing the gender-specific impacts of climate change on their lives and livelihoods.
5. Secure the rights and interests of present and future generations, ensuring they have access to a healthy and sustainable environment, adequate resources, and opportunities to thrive in a low-carbon and climate-resilient world.

 Reject false solutions and narratives that undermine African communities’ rights, interests and sovereignty, such as carbon markets, geoengineering, nuclear energy, and the principle of share responsibilities. We remind African leaders that some proposals or actions claim to address the climate crisis. In reality, they either have no significant impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions or, worse, have negative social and environmental consequences. These proposals are promoted by powerful interests that benefit from maintaining the status quo of fossil fuel dependence, and they divert attention and resources from the real solutions that are urgently needed. Download/Read More:  CSO Position- ACS (ENGLISH)     FRENCH