Non-state actors fault the Nairobi Declaration, say it failed to address some issues

Memory Kachambwa. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]

Non-State Actors Committee (NSAC) who consisted of faith leaders, civil societies, and indigenous people have said the recently concluded Africa Climate Summit missed an opportunity to have a strong African position that established the route to addressing the climate crisis.

Speaking in Nairobi on Friday, the group said issues like adaptation did not get the priority it deserves.

‘‘We express our disappointment that the Declaration does not prioritise adaptation as a critical concern for Africa and leaves it a mere peripheral issue,’’ said Anne Samante, who represented the indigenous people and who read the joint statement.

She added: ‘‘We would like to remind the Heads of State that adaptation is not only crucial for survival but also a matter of justice. Therefore, we urge the authorities to accord equal attention and resources to both adaptation and mitigation in their national and international actions.’’ They also demanded that adaptation strategies are designed on local knowledge, needs, capacities and human rights principals.

Dr Mwenda Mithika, executive director of Pan African Climate Justice(PACJA), said Africa, which accounts for less than 4 per cent of carbon emissions and suffers most due to climate change, between now and 2030 requires between USD160 and USD340 billion dollars by 2030 yet what it gets on average is USD16 billion.

‘‘Look at Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which is expected to take us to net zero, all of them are talking about mitigation settings and not on adaptation because it has no return on investments,’’ said Mwenda.

‘‘That is why many of the pledges at the summit amounting to USD26 billion (Sh3 trillion) were on mitigation and not adaptation, it may not even be 20 per cent, yet the summit was supposed to talk on African priorities.’’

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The NDCs are at the heart of the Paris Agreement and the achievement of its long-term goals. They embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The Paris Agreement (Article 4, paragraph 2) requires each Party to prepare, communicate and maintain successive NDCs that it intends to achieve.

Parties shall pursue domestic mitigation measures, with the aim of achieving the objectives of such contributions. The NDCs are submitted every five years to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC secretariat.

They also rejected carbon trading as a source of financing, saying it would be another neo-colonialism, would fuel pollution by rich nations and currently is marred with controversial injustices including pricing per ton of carbon.

Mwenda said African leaders should not be excited by the huge number of pledges made at the summit but ask themselves what was made towards mitigation.

He said they have started a Keep Your Promise campaign to push for the honouring of the pledges made at the summit at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) of the UNFCCC in Copenhagen in 2009.

Here, developed countries committed to a collective goal of mobilising USD100 billion per year by 2020 for climate action in developing countries, in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation.

They said the Declaration also did not address the issue of just transition, which is crucial in ensuring no one is left behind in the shift to a low-carbon economy.

“We note that the Declaration only mentions just transition one without any details or commitments on how we should define it in our own narratives and perspectives and how it will be implemented,” said Ms Samante.

They called upon the Heads of States to adopt a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to just transition that is contextual and responsive to African realities, aspirations and desires.