By: Andrew Bawiec & Cora Sverdrup
During Africa Climate Week, African leaders attempted to demonstrate the continent’s commitment to climate solutions by drafting the Nairobi Declaration. While African environmental activists and advocates had hoped that this declaration— along with the other events of the week— would display Africa’s stance against neocolonial and capitalist agendas, they have criticized African governments for not going far enough in the fight for climate justice.
Africa Climate Week
In the months leading up to COP28, climate leaders, experts and activists gathered to discuss climate strategy at Regional Climate Weeks (RCWs). Marking the first of the RCWs, Kenya hosted Africa Climate Week 2023 and its parallel event, the Africa Climate Summit, this past week in Nairobi.
From Sept 4-8, African leaders held their Regional Climate Week in Kenya.
These events allow regional delegates to discuss and plan climate initiatives on a unified scale. Africa’s key issues throughout this Climate Week included renewable energy, sustainable development, climate justice, and climate finance for loss and damage.
Despite the continent’s relatively low carbon footprint, Africa faces the brunt of climate change. African communities are subjected to severe droughts, weather events and rising temperatures.
According to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Africa “accounts for less than four per cent of global emissions,” yet is forced to deal with “climate chaos” and other problems that are not of Africa’s “own making”. Sentiments such as this contributed to some of its major outcomes and conflicts.
While Africa’s Climate Week and Summit aimed to demonstrate the continent’s capacity and initiative in future climate solutions, dissent arose from civil society with the announcement of the summit's concluding document, the Nairobi Declaration.
The Nairobi Declaration
Of its more ambitious demands, the declaration calls for major polluting countries to commit more resources to poorer and overburdened nations, through the implementation of a global tax on carbon — not just emissions, but on trade and transport, as well.
While discussions have been historically centered around carbon credits, fittingly called “pollution permits,” this proposed tax is a relatively novel solution. The discussion of the carbon market is riddled with concerns that it only benefits polluting countries and is ineffective at lowering emission levels. The revenue generated from the proposed global financial transaction tax would funnel directly into the Global South's climate initiatives, filling a massive funding gap. Africa’s declared support of a tax system to directly benefit developing countries may be a solution to some of these issues.
The document further urges global leaders to maintain former financial commitments for the Loss & Damage Fund, climate adaptation and debt relief. It also establishes the Africa Climate Summit as a “biennial event” for future collaboration on a continental scale. African delegates will present this Declaration and its proposals later this year at COP28.
Though the Nairobi Declaration is a historic document, many African activists and civilians were left disappointed at best and infuriated at worst.
Amid constant protests outside the Summit walls, hundreds of climate activists convened a People’s Assembly to put forward their own Declaration. Activists demanded an end to the “existing neoliberal, authoritarian, extractive, neo-colonial, racist, patriarchal systems” and called for “trillions” in climate reparations for the Global South and major systemic reforms.
According to CharityMigwi, Kenyan climate activist and regional campaigner at 350Africa.org, “There’s nothing new about the nature of the wording of the [Nairobi] declaration: Rather than phase out fossil fuels, the declaration indicates a phase down of coal, which isn’t a new thing and hasn’t been implemented yet. We can’t afford to take baby steps when the scale and speed of change needed should be radical” -
Sustainable Development or Neo-colonialism?
Climate justice advocates and youth groups have criticized the global rhetoric surrounding Africa's role in the fight against the climate crisis. Particularly, Power Shift Africa and the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance have expressed concerns that the extraction of Africa’s ‘green energy’ resources and carbon credit exchanges may allow developed countries to construct new modes of neo-colonialism and further exploit the continent.
The summit’s Non State Actors Committee (NSAC) expressed concern and disappointment at the declaration’s failure to prioritize citizen safety, adaptation strategies and a just transition in its green development plans. The NSAC even went as far as to “urge the Heads of State to adopt a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to just transition that is contextual and responsive to African realities, aspirations, desires, and which will discourage experimentation on false solutions that exacerbate the climate crisis”.
“Ambition in mitigation must be in parallel with ambition in climate justice,” exclaimed UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his statement at the Summit.
Growing Tensions
Being the first RCW event of 2023, this summit sets the tone for the rest of the weeks — a tone far from relaxed.
“The outcome of the summit itself is like a man dying of thirst in the Sahara Desert and being offered only his own urine” - Mohamed Adow, director of the African climate think-tank Power Shift Africa, in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Two major perspectives butted heads at the summit: humanitarian climate justice and financial gains. Tensions skyrocketed as President Ruto focused the conversations on the economic opportunities that the climate crisis can bring for Africa.
“Yes, every village and every community is undergoing distress by drought and other mechanisms, but we are looking at the opportunity,” Ruto said.
And while Ruto’s intentions may be sincere, the proposed actions discussed at the summit are still up for debate. Some of Africa’s current economies rely heavily on fossil fuels. So, how can the people of Africa effectively wane off of sustainable energy sources without the slimy tentacles of neocolonialism grabbing for profit?
Keep an eye out for the remaining three RCWs, starting next month:
Oct. 8-12: Middle East and North Africa Climate Week,
Oct. 23-27: Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week
Nov. 13-17: Asia-Pacific Climate Week
***
Yorumlar