With only a few days remaining to the 2nd African Climate Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, scheduled between 8th-10th.September, African journalists who are alumni of the Danida Fellowship gathered virtually to share their insights on the summit while also preparing for this year’s COP 30 in Brazil.
The African Climate Summit, organized by the African Union, addresses climate change issues from an African perspective ahead of the UNFCCC’s annual climate summit—the Conference of the Parties (COP). This summit is viewed as a key opportunity to position Africa as a global leader in climate solutions.
This year’s agenda focuses primarily on uniting Africa to influence the outcomes of COP30, the G20, and the UN General Assembly; pushing for substantial reforms to increase grant-based climate finance; highlighting African-led climate solutions with global potential; strengthening national and local systems and platforms to manage and deliver climate finance; and building strategic partnerships to support a just transition and climate justice across the continent.
James Kahongeh, a Danida alumnus and media and communications lead at Power Shift Africa, who led the discussion during the virtual meeting of African journalists who are Danida fellows, expressed his expectation that this year’s African Climate Summit will see strong demands from African leaders for reforms in the global financial system and a unified continental voice to attract green investments.
“For many years, Africans have criticized the structure of the international financial system. It does not serve African interests because, as you may know, this system was created when most African countries were still under colonial rule. Eighty years later, many feel that the system established back then no longer represents African interests—making reforms essential,” he explained.
While Africa continues to demand climate finance justice, there should also be an emphasis on enhancing regional climate governance. Although Africa has not yet received all the support it requires, there remains a need for greater transparency regarding how much funding has been allocated, where it has been directed, and the types of projects it has supported.
Regarding carbon markets, African civil society movements have largely rejected them, viewing these markets as ineffective solutions that do not serve the interests of frontline communities. Instead, they see carbon markets as a distraction from genuine solutions, which involve ending the reliance on fossil fuels.
As Kahongeh stated, “For African civil society organizations, carbon markets are a diversion and do not provide the solutions people need. What people require is climate finance and the cessation of fossil fuel use.”
Marking the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement:
A decade ago, at the 21st UN Climate Change Conference, the Paris Agreement brought together 195 countries in a global effort to combat climate change. This historic accord committed nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming and to strengthen resilience against escalating climate impacts.
The agreement, the result of many years of negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, serves as the global framework to prevent irreversible climate damage and to ensure that the benefits of climate action are shared by all countries and peoples.
Although significant progress has been made, much work remains. Scientific data indicates that before this global cooperation, warming was projected to exceed 4°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100—a rise that would have catastrophic consequences for ecosystems, economies, and societies worldwide. Thanks to international collaboration, notable achievements include strong leadership, commitments to net zero emissions—with half of the world’s largest companies pledging net zero—global consensus among nations to address climate change and adapt to its effects, and the establishment of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that countries review every five years.
Nonetheless, considerable efforts are still needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C, protect the current 8 billion people from worsening climate impacts, and ensure that the benefits of climate action are equitably distributed across all nations.
