The Africa Climate Summit Non-State Actors Steering Committee (ACS-NSA), has placed heightened demands and redlines as the continent prepares for the special Africa Climate Summit to convene in Nairobi, Kenya, in September 2023.
Executive Director of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), which is supporting the ACS-NSA secretariat Dr. Mithika Mwenda, said the previous sessions and processes were characterized by externally made thoughts and solutions for Africa and Africans while the continent deems to be continent of potential and solutions, opined the non-state actors, even as they explored the slow or lack of African commitment to find solutions and firm the position.
“With all these foggy moves by mighty global spheres that have not yielded a promising solution for Africa, we demand that all debates and decisions at the African Climate Summit respect and fulfill the human rights of all people, especially, those left vulnerable and marginalized by the effects of Climate Change such as indigenous people, women, children persons with disabilities and poor communities,” he said.
Calling on Africa’s leaders to shift goalposts toward the contextually Africanised perspectives and aspirations, they requested to focus on major issues during the summit as brought on board by Waituru Mwangi, representing VSO/Kenya.
The ACS-NSA is a platform that strives for the advancement of a pro-African agenda in all key climate spaces.
The summit takes place at a time it appears that the developed world presents no signs to address the adverse impacts caused by climate change, for which they are the main contributors.
The summit takes place while mild signs show non-significant progress of inclusive solutions to the climate crisis and consider Africa as the last or less important solutions provider at the same table of global climate crisis solutions.
Non-state actors take note that underestimating the role of the continent and suppressing her voice and aspirations make the move stunt and lead to the human rights puzzle towards the betterment of Africans and the next generations.
The Republic of Kenya is the host of the summit to be held from September 3 to 6, 2023. The president of the Republic of Kenya is the chair of the African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change Committee (CAHOSCC) which was established in 2009 during the 13th ordinary sessions of the African Union Assembly.
In collaboration with the African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN) and the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN), CAHOSCC works to advance the Africa Common Position on Climate Change at global fora and negotiations on climate change.
Organized into clusters, the ACS-NSA draws its members from regional CSOs, Indigenous People, Faith Actors, Trade Unions, African Private Sector, Farmer Organisations, Women and Gender Constituencies, Academia and Research Institutions, Foundations and Finance Institutions, organisations working on Conservation and Nature Based Solutions, and Youth Organisations.
By Dare Akogun