Campaigns

Background

Climate events are currently a critical concern in Africa and are expected to become more intense and frequent, with negative impacts on people’s livelihoods, including the right to life, to food, water, health and to a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. According to the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Africa is the most vulnerable continent to climate change impacts under all climate scenarios above 1.5°C. Despite accounting for only 4% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,1 Africa faces climate-related challenges that pose a risk to livelihoods and public health and infrastructure investments, economies, water, food systems, and agriculture. It is a grave injustice that impacts of climate change are felt by people in developing countries the most considering that they have contributed the least to the climate crisis. Additionally, the cost of historical and current emissions will be disproportionately borne by future generations.

The transboundary nature of climate change requires all countries to reduce emissions and to achieve zero carbon emissions as soon as possible to the full extent of their abilities. However, countries are not equally responsible for the climate crisis. G20 countries are responsible for 78% of current global annual emissions, with some having a heightened responsibility because of the emissions they have historically produced since the beginning of the industrial revolution. In addition, all of the highest historical emitters are also among the wealthiest states.

Current climate change projections indicate that extreme weather and climate events are expected to become more frequent and more severe because of climate change in the coming decades, disproportionately affecting people in developing countries. In many instances, the impact of recurrent extreme events will exceed the adaptive capacity of countries, communities and ecosystems resulting in an irreversible economic and non-economic losses and damages.

Despite this, the vast majority of states are also failing to phase out emissions fast enough to limit the increase of global average temperatures to below 1.5°C. Without more ambitious steps, urgently, situations like the ongoing drought in Sub Saharan Africa and the cyclones down south, are likely to become more recurrent, and more severe.

This therefore implies that climate crises will continue affecting Africa unless African civil society actors and communities pursue a rightful share of the allocated global climate fund for adaptation to climate change and averting climate crises. Climate change is no longer a single scientific discipline but rather a multidisciplinary discourse that invites a diversity of actors.

Rationale of the Launch of the Climate Justice Torch

Pan Africa Climate Justice Alliance – PACJA, its extensive network of partners is launching an African Torch on Climate Justice towards Sharm El Sheikh during the Africa Climate week in Gabon.  In Africa, Pan African Climate Justice Alliance is a leading voice in campaigning and engaging with the Africa Union member states and institutions to ensure that member countries take climate action. At the global level, PACJA and coalition members is pushing for an African Common Position at the UNFCCC levels, campaigning for the quantity and quality of climate finance but also for transparency to ensure that the finances trickle down to those that need it most and establishment of a finance facility for loss and damage, treating Africa as a continent of special needs and circumstances.

This year, Africa is hosting COP 27 at Sharm El Sheikh and PACJA has mobilized local communities through our platform in Gabon to engage in country mobilization and climate action during the Africa climate week and with participants coming in from several countries to deliver on policy commitments to support the African common position on climate justice.

This campaign launch aims to kick start an Africa-wide process of enhancing visibility of the struggles and resilience of African communities in the frontline of climate crisis by giving them a platform to voice their issues and shape priorities for discussions in COP27. Through the leadership of young people in the continent, the Climate Justice Torch campaign will provide a platform for women, young people, indigenous people, pastoralists, fisher folk and their movements as well as children in the frontline of climate crisis to amplify their issues, share their propositions and convene dialogues with policy makers.

PACJA and its partners will be launching the African Torch on Climate Justice to showcase how the African continent is impacted by climate change as well as generate sound proposals for action. The launch as a pre-event of the African Climate Week will spur discussion on best policy and investment practices that could address the priorities of the African continent feeding into key advocacy moments including CCDA and AMCEN.

The torch will virtually move in the continent virtually through regional dialogues that will culminate into a high-level continental dialogue as a pre-COP27 convening in Egypt. The voices of communities that are central to this Climate Justice Torch Campaign will be amplified through a strong media and communication strategy and in a solidarity, manner reinforced by high profile Pan-Africanists who shall be subscribing to drive the campaign.

Diverse stakeholders will also have an opportunity to share transformational local actions that have delivered benefits to the local communities in Africa.

• Objectives of the Climate Justice Torch campaign

Specifically, PACJA, through a series of advocacy action, aim to:

• Enhance the visibility of African peoples’ affected communities, vulnerabilities and engaging African youth climate activists and contribute to their increased influence at national, regional and international decision-making spaces on climate justice.
• Build sufficient political momentum within Africa for urgent action, pushing for a unified position by the political class at all levels.
• Consolidate organizing of key influencing blocks through strengthening mobilization of climate action driven by young people, women movements, pastoralists and other vulnerable groups.

Objectives of the launch

While servicing the broad objectives and seeking to secure the broad outcomes as highlighted above, the launch shall in addition serve the following objectives:

• Hinged on a high-level platform of the ACW amplify the aspirations of the Climate Justice Torch Campaign and in particular the need for voices of communities in the frontline of climate crisis to be at the center of buildup discussions to COP, including the ACW, AMCEN and indeed COP27

• Profile the significance of the CJ Torch campaign and assign it significant momentum to drive pan-African mobilization of voices of communities in climate crisis and convening of country level dialogues

• Set in motion mobilization of voices in Gabon and neighboring countries towards engagement in COP27

 Participants

PACJA and its partners are working to secure the participation of the following cadre of actors during the launch of The Climate Justice Torch campaign:

• African Union officials responsible for climate; AUDA – NEPAD
• African Union Organs;
• Youth, women, pastoralist and indigenous people’s movements across Africa
• Civil Society Organizations, especially those dealing with young people’s and climate;
• Regional Economic Communities;
• United Nations agencies;
• Private sector;
• Development partners;
• Eminent persons

Working Languages during the Climate Justice Torch Launch  

In the spirit of enhancing our shared purpose in this campaign PACJA will support concurrent interpretation in English and French.

 Contact person:

1. Philip Kilonzo – Philip.Kilonzo@pacja.org