The activities of the Tenth Annual Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA10), ended on October 28, 2022, in Windhoek, the Namibian capital. A meeting that resulted in a series of resolutions.
Aware of the growing seriousness of the impacts of climate change on our economies and since Africa, which represents 17% of the world’s population, totals less than 4% of global emissions, African countries noted at the end of the meeting, the need to ensure a truly just transition for the continent. According to the participants, Africa must be at the forefront of defining, leading, and owning a just transitions agenda centred on people and aligned with the common fundamental principle of differentiated responsibilities. The urgency of building resilient economies to close development gaps on the continent, creation of decent job opportunities, industrialization and empowerment of women, youth, and indigenous groups, must imperatively be considered. For ClimDev-Africa partners, developed countries must do more and faster to reduce their emissions.
Furthermore, the use of natural gas as a transition fuel constitutes a convincing and credible argument in favour of the energy transition in Africa, in accordance with the Kigali communiqué on a fair and equitable energy transition in Africa and the expected position of the African Union on energy transition. Africa must also deepen its regional integration and leverage the AfCFTA to utilize its abundant clean energy resources to drive the global energy transition plan.
On financing for climate action and just transition, participants agreed that African countries and development partners should work together to, among other things, find innovative ways to leverage limited public resources, to mobilize the huge investments required for private sector climate action. Specifically, developed countries should urgently provide the oft-promised $100 billion to restore confidence in our common climate change agenda. Africa’s private sector and captains of industry should also come together to lead investment in climate action in Africa, including through initiatives such as ECA’s “Team-Energy Africa” in partnership with the African Energy Chamber and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL). In this regard, African governments urgently need to strengthen an enabling environment to attract foreign investment. In view of the rich natural resources that Africa has for carbon sequestration, our continent must be supported in the use of the resulting carbon credits, to mobilize resources from the voluntary carbon market to finance just transitions. African countries have finally been urged to adjust their legal and regulatory frameworks to ensure that Article 6 of the Paris Agreement works in their favour. These resolutions will be discussed at COP 27 scheduled in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, this November 2022.
