Africa, sing a new song after this Climate Summit

Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Forestry, Soipan Tuya. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]

Nairobi hosts the Africa Climate Summit in just a week, at a time when climate-induced catastrophes bedevil the continent, and when talk supersedes action to achieve climate justice for the most affected and at-risk communities.

Yet the summit's agenda does not seem focused on enabling African leaders to speak the bitter truth, as the people would want it packaged. First, Africa should demand more commitment to climate justice than empty talk at the summit.

Being the least contributors to the climate crisis, African leaders must demand that historical injustices are acknowledged and remedial actions follow for the continent to be well-equipped to adapt and mitigate the negative effects of climate change.

Unfortunately, Africa is at the mercy of foreign rich oil and gas firms dangling economic development, scholarships, and jobs to extract fossil fuels without care for implications on the carbon footprints, food security, or ecosystem. The suffering of economies and people in oil-rich African countries is like a curse.

The summit must recognize the effects of fossil fuel projects on Africa's unique natural assets and key parts of the ecosystem such as savannas, rainforests, and the coast, and give clear roadmaps on their protection from degradation and destruction.

Investments in renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro, and other clean energy projects must not just increase energy access for the nearly 600 million people starved, but also boost development for the continent, provide green job opportunities, and aid quick arrival at Net Zero. Of key importance for the continent is phasing out of existing and end to any new fossil fuel projects now.

Time is up for the end of such stories as children being married off somewhere on the African coasts because their parents can no longer feed them, having lost all their crops and livestock to drought. Tales of climate refugees, climate-induced conflicts, or hunger must disappear from African news pages.

The summit should dwell on sustainable agricultural practices for the sake of food security and safe environment. This should be complemented by investment in infrastructure, mechanised agriculture, and water resource management for grassroots and poor urban communities, especially those in informal settlements, to be more resilient to extreme weather events. Disaster preparedness and response mechanisms must be strengthened to minimize the loss of lives in calamities.

While the last Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC (COP27) finally opened pathways for payment of Loss and Damage within a framework to be set up, Africa should clearly state its worry about inaction witnessed around other climate funds.

The continent cannot adapt to deaths and destructions. This has been draining emotionally, economically, and in other aspects.

Still, at the summit, let the voices of communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis, including indigenous communities, be heard and locally applicable solutions and long-held practices given a chance to increase resilience.

Africa Climate Summit is a turning point for the "Africa suffers more in climate crisis yet it emits the least GHG" chorus.

After the summit, the chorus should be: "For sustainable development and a more equitable future globally, you must (bend this way) address climate change in Africa."

When all is said and done, and for accountability, transparency through clear reporting mechanisms must be clear for us to track changes. This will strengthen trust between Africa and other states.

-The writer is communications manager at GreenFaith. @lynno16