African Non-State Actors Position for UNFCCC-COP30

Repositioning Africa’s Climate Agenda in Poly Crisis Era

Hailed as the “People’s COP”, the 30^th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), taking place in Belem, Brazil, offers an opportunity to revisit the spirit of the 1992 Rio Conventions and reignite global ambition across climate action, biodiversity conservation and land restoration. The Brazilian Presidency has rightly called for a paradigm shift, urging Parties to place Locally Determined Contributions (LDCs) at the heart of COP30 outcomes. If designed with adaptation as the central pillar, this framing could reshape global climate architecture and unlock more equitable, context-driven finance flows.

Yet, the current trajectory shaped by the outcomes of SB62 falls short. With the Gender Action Plan and the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) indicators emerging as the primary deliverables, COP30 risks becoming a missed opportunity unless it secures meaningful progress on the Baku–Belém Roadmap, particularly the $1.3 trillion finance goal and the broader means of implementation essential for delivering the GGA.

This COP also unfolds amid a turbulent geopolitical landscape marked by polycrisis, rising nationalism, and a retreat from multilateral norms. Scientific consensus is under siege from powerful actors in developed economies intent on preserving fossil-fuel dependency. The recent decision by the United States to no longer reaffirm the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals further undermines global solidarity and shared accountability.

In this context, African civil society reiterates its call for renewed global commitment to multilateralism, extraordinary organizing, and bold coalitions of solidarity. Coming just weeks after the Second Africa Climate Summit, COP30 must serve as a litmus test for Africa’s leadership in shaping a just, inclusive, and resilient global climate regime. We stand ready to mobilize, advocate, and co-create pathways that center African agency, elevate adaptation, and demand accountability from all Parties.

For the broader fraternity of African non-state actors, COP30 presents a critical juncture to recalibrate the global discourse on climate finance. Drawing from decades of engagement in climate negotiations, we assert the urgency of anchoring the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG)—despite its limited ambition and scope—in financing mechanisms that directly serve communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis. While Belém may deliver on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) indicators, such progress will remain hollow without the means to implement the adaptation and resilience outcomes they envision.

Across the continent, governments are already reallocating scarce domestic resources toward climate action—often at the expense of essential services like education, healthcare, and infrastructure for the poor. This is unfolding within a fiscal landscape burdened by unsustainable debt. To advance just climate action, Africa requires transformative climate finance that enables adaptation, just transitions, and mitigation efforts—ensuring that women, youth, children, Indigenous Peoples, smallholder farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk, persons with disabilities, climate 22 migrants, workers, and trade unions have the tools and resources to act.

This statement consolidates the perspectives of over 10,000 representatives from diverse sectors and communities, gathered through a year-long series of convenings led by PACJA and its sectoral and thematic partners, in collaboration with pan-African institutions. It reflects the collective wisdom and demands shaped through: Continue Reading/Download ENG  or  French

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