Africa Climate Week Outcomes
Driving Green Growth and Climate Finance: Highlights from Africa Climate Week
The Africa Climate Week recently provided a vital platform for discussions and actions addressing climate change, adaptation, and sustainable development in Africa. With the theme "Driving Green Growth and Climate Finance Solutions for Africa and the World", this week-long event, held concurrently with the Africa Climate Summit, initiated engaging conversations and initiatives dedicated to confronting the imminent climate challenges across the African continent.
The African Climate Week centered around four system based tracks which are aimed at offering regional focused contributions for the global stocktake namely; (1) Energy systems and industry (2) Cities, urban and rural settlements, infrastructure and transport. (3) Land, ocean, food and water and (4) Societies, health, livelihood and economies.
Climate Finance and Adaptation: The Africa Climate Week (ACW) revolved around two fundamental pillars: climate finance and adaptation. It reinforced the urgent need to tackle climate change with unconventional approaches. Delegates emphasized the crucial role of building resilient infrastructure and systems. They acknowledged that every effort, no matter how small, contributes to the fight against climate change. The week consistently spotlighted Africa's vulnerability to climate change, particularly regarding food security. It underscored the connections between climate change, forced migration, conflicts, global security, and disease prevention, highlighting the urgent requirement for prompt adaptation measures.
Taking Responsibility for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation: Participants were called upon to leverage their expertise and resources for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The focus was on individual and professional capabilities, recognizing that every contribution counts in the battle against climate change. The discussions also highlighted the indigenous perspective on climate change, underlining how higher levels of adaptation can significantly reduce loss and damage events, benefiting local communities.
African Resilience Strategy and Global Collaboration: ACW included discussions on the African Resilience Strategy 2022 - 2032, aimed at enhancing coordination between Regional Economic Communities and African Union (AU) Member States to address transboundary and cascading climate risks. Discussions covered areas like National Adaptation Plans, exchange rate stability, de-risking the private sector, and holding governments accountable. The prevailing sentiment was succinctly captured with the phrase "adapt or die."
Investing in Early Warning Systems: A critical outcome of the Africa Climate Summit was the pressing need to invest in early warning systems. Shockingly, it was revealed that only half of the 93 member states had such systems in place. International cooperation, particularly from countries like China and Germany, was sought to aid African nations in policy development, financial support, and capacity building for adaptation.
The Roadmap to Adaptation Funding: In response to mounting climate challenges, there was a collective call to increase domestic financial and technological resources, as well as capacity building support for developing countries. The hope is to establish a roadmap for adaptation funding by 2025, underlining the urgency of the situation.
Transforming Food Systems for Sustainability: An all-women panel led discussions on food systems transformation, emphasizing that true transformation requires structural changes to transition from oil dependency to a green economy, especially through diversification into agriculture. Empowering young people and women, addressing land ownership issues, and promoting scientific advancements in agriculture are pivotal in ensuring food security and exports to neighboring countries.
Empowering Farmers through Domestic Financing: The event also delved into domestic financing, the clarity of ratios, and political determination to support farmers. It was highlighted that African leaders have a responsibility to prioritize adaptation transformation, focusing on skill development and speed.
Concessional Support and Bilateral Investments: The President of the African Development Bank underscored the importance of concessional windows of financial support for countries most affected by climate change, recognizing that the least developed nations are the most vulnerable. Discussions also centered on the role of governments in investment and bilateral support, alongside efforts to encourage private sector participation in climate adaptation and finance.
The Water-Food-Energy Nexus: Lastly, the water-food-energy nexus was explored in adaptation efforts. An essential takeaway was the necessity of conducting vulnerability assessments for projects adapted from other regions to ensure their suitability and acceptance in the African context.
Frequency: It was decided that the Africa Climate Week would be hosted every two years.
Nairobi Declaration: This declaration represents Africa's collective stance on climate change leading up to COP28 and beyond. It advocates for a just multilateral development finance scheme to liberate Africa's economies from endless debt and onerous barriers to the necessary financial resources for tackling climate change.
In conclusion, Africa Climate Week 2023 served as a pivotal platform for addressing the pressing challenges of climate change in Africa. The conversations and commitments made during the week underscore the urgency of climate action and the need for global cooperation to advance climate adaptation efforts on the continent. With increased investment, collaboration, and determination, there is hope that Africa can scale up its adaptation initiatives and reduce the impacts of climate change by 2030.