Section of non-state actors criticise planning, agenda of Africa Climate Summit

A group of non-state actors have criticized the pallning and agenda of the African Climate Summit, issuing nine demands to African Heads of state hours.

This comes hours to the opening of the Africa Climate Sumit in Nairobi.

The Non-state actors (NSAs) are corporations, private institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and various groups across the environment and climate change sector; with significant political influence but is not allied to any particular country or state.

The group, dubbed the African Climate Summit- Non-State Actors (ACS-NSA), a pan-African platform advocating for a pro-African agenda in all critical spaces at the summit and beyond.

It has a Secretariat supported by the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) and is organised into clusters that draw members from regional CSOs, Indigenous People, Faith Actors, Trade Unions, the African Private Sector, Farmer Organizations, Women and Gender Constituencies, Youth Movements, Academia and Research Institutions, Foundations and Finance Institutions.

In a joint statement on Sunday, the NSAs have expressed deep concern and disappointment over the preparation and agenda of the Summit occasioned by organisational lapses, apparent civil society exclusion, and Western interest dominance.

They argue that if the African countries have a harmonised agenda that impacts its people, it is easy for the coninent to speak one language in global platfroms like the COP28.

"As African leaders prepare to gather for the upcoming Africa Climate Summit (ACS), we, a collective of non-state actors bringing together diverse groups across sectors, express deep concern and disappointment over the preparation and agenda of the Summit. Organisational lapses, apparent civil society exclusion, and Western interest dominance are also set to mar the Summit." The statement reads in part.

"The hallmark of the organisational confusion and inertia manifests in the accreditation process where exhausted delegates are tossed from the accreditation venue to the Ministry of Environment for clearance process for what is said to be approval."

As a result of their grievances, the players have issued demands to African governments, in a document giving detailed recommendations on how to successfully handle climate change issues in the continent.

"Our demands are informed by the alarming devastation of climate change on the continent and the failure of the developed countries responsible for this devastation to provide adequate support to the most vulnerable countries and communities."

The following is a list of the demands raised by the group:

• African leaders to acknowledge the urgent need to address the climate emergency and protect the rights and livelihoods of its citizens.
• A just and equitable transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future that respects the rights and dignity of all people.
• African leaders to stand by the principles of climate justice, human rights, gender equality, and intergenerational equity in all climate policies and actions.
• Developed countries to fulfil their historical responsibility and provide adequate and predictable finance, technology transfer, and capacity building to support adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage in Africa.
• Rejects false solutions and narratives undermining African communities' rights, interests, and sovereignty, such as carbon markets, geoengineering, nuclear energy, and shared responsibility principles.
• Reject promoting carbon markets as they do not serve the climate justice agenda for Africa.
• Call for a just and equitable transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future that respects the rights and dignity of all people.
• African leaders commit to a just and fair transition to renewable energy, prioritising energy access for the poor and marginalised and guaranteeing community ownership and participation.
• Emphasise the need for African leaders to put the African people above all personal and collective political and economic interests.