Nairobi, Kenya, 08/09/2023
The Africa Climate Summit Non-State Actors Committee (NSAC), has declared support for the Declaration’s call for investing in public finance for green economic development and reiterated their unequivocal support for reforming the global financial architecture to address African countries’ challenges, especially climate finance and proposals for debt relief, concessional finance, and innovative financial mechanisms, and endorse the
Bridgetown Process, which aims to align finance with sustainable development goals and human rights all in a sense, signaling the acknowledgement of the imperatives of climate justice.
“We appreciate the recognition of the critical importance of reversing biodiversity loss and explicit commitments made to protect and enhance nature and biodiversity, and to halt and reverse the loss of
biodiversity, as well as restoration of degraded lands,” reads the statement.
However, they expressed concern that the Summit missed an opportunity to have a strong African position that established the route to addressing the climate crisis.
“We express our disappointment that the Declaration does not prioritize adaptation as a critical concern for Africa and leaves it a mere peripheral issue. We would like to remind the Heads of States that adaptation is not only crucial for survival but also a matter of justice. Africa is one of the regions that are most affected by climate change, even though it contributes the least to its causes,” the statement reads.
Speaking at a press briefing at a Nairobi hotel, the Non state Actors supported by PACJA urged the authorities to accord equal attention and resources to both adaptation and mitigation in their national and international actions.
“Additionally, we demand that adaptation strategies are designed based on local knowledge, needs, capacities, and human rights principles. We are also concerned that the Declaration does not adequately address the emotive issue of just transition, which is crucial for ensuring that no one is left behind in the shift to a low-carbon economy. We note that the Declaration only mentions just transition once without any details or commitments on how we should define it in our own narratives and perspectives, and how it will be implemented,” the statement outlined.
The NSAC hass urged the Heads of State to adopt a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to transition that is contextual and responsive to African crisis which involves meaningful participation of workers, communities, civil society, and other stakeholders in planning and implementing policies that promote decent work, social protection, human rights, gender equality, and environmental justice.
“Such an approach should also ensure the vast resources driving the transition, including wind, solar and geothermal, as well as critical minerals spread across the continent, restore hope to the people who have known such resources to be the source of pain, conflict and misery. Curiously, also, the Summit did not pronounce itself on how African leaders will collectively work together to exert pressure on developed countries to deliver on the financial commitments previously made by the historical emitters. The failure to advance for framework for pushing for a funding mechanism to fund some of the critical climate-related interventions that protect those most affected by inequality and discrimination who are often children, youth and women, was another waterloo for the Summit,” reads the statement.
The Africa Climate Summit – Non-State Actors Steering Committee (ACS-NSA) is a Platform that strives for the advancement of a pro-African agenda in all key climate spaces. With its Secretariat supported by PACJA, and organized into clusters, the ACS-NSA draws its members from regional CSOs, Indigenous People, Faith Actors, Trade Unions, African Private Sector, Farmer Organizations, Women and Gender Constituencies, Academia and Research Institutions, Foundations and Finance Institutions, organizations working on Conservation and Nature Based Solutions or Youth organizations.
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