AGN Chair outlines Africa’s strategic climate roadmap at CAHOSCC meeting ahead of COP31

In a major presentation to the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC), the Chair of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN), Nana Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, outlined Africa’s strategic priorities for upcoming climate negotiations, key outcomes from COP30 and recent Bonn climate sessions (SBs64), and a unified multi-year roadmap spanning COP31 through COP33.

 

Dr. Amoah warned that global climate action is facing unprecedented political and environmental pressures. Rising nationalism, conservatism, and climate denial are increasingly weakening multilateral cooperation. At the same time, geopolitical tensions and the global energy crisis have renewed international reliance on fossil fuels, slowing the transition to clean energy.

 

Across Africa, extreme weather driven by Super El Niño conditions is intensifying droughts, floods, food insecurity, displacement, and energy shortages. Africa continues to bear disproportionate human, economic, and non-economic impacts from climate-related loss and damage.

 

Despite these mounting crises, the AGN Chair noted global commitments to the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement are weakening. Current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) leave the world on an estimated warming trajectory of 2.7°C.

 

Furthermore, international climate finance is contracting when developing countries require it most: the Global Environment Facility (GEF) replenishment dropped by approximately 38% compared to previous cycles, and a 50% reduction in pledges from a developed country to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) created a major financing shortfall.

 

Unpacking COP30 Outcomes and Bonn Progress

 

Reviewing progress from COP30 and the SBs64 negotiations in Bonn, Dr. Amoah highlighted key thematic areas shaping Africa’s bargaining positions:

 

Just Transitions Mechanism: Building on COP30's agreement to set up a mechanism for international cooperation, technical assistance, capacity-building, and knowledge-sharing, the AGN is prioritizing its operationalisation. The goal is to establish clear governance, modalities, and work programmes heading toward an operational launch at COP32, while safeguarding national development space and nationally determined transitions.

 

Climate Change and Trade: Following the launch of the COP30 trade dialogue, Africa aims to address unilateral climate measures and protect its industrialisation, trade opportunities, and economic development from arbitrary discrimination or disguised trade restrictions.

 

Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA): While COP30 adopted the Belém Adaptation Indicators, negotiations on the GGA stalled during SBs64 in Bonn. The AGN is pushing to develop methodologies and guidance that keep adaptation visible as a vital priority and inform collective progress.

 

Climate Finance: The AGN is leveraging the two-year work programme established at COP30 to enforce developed countries' financial obligations under Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement. The group is demanding concrete steps to improve access to predictable public finance, advancing the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) and adaptation commitments to secure a major climate-finance outcome at COP32.

 

Adaptation Fund and Second Global Stocktake (GST-2): Priorities include resolving outstanding issues in the Adaptation Fund’s transition to serve the Paris Agreement—protecting its direct-access model—and ensuring an inclusive, Party-driven launch for GST-2 with balanced coverage across mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, and means of implementation.

 

Strategic Continuity: A Three-Year Horizon from COP31 to COP33

 

Looking ahead, Dr. Amoah stressed the necessity of treating COP31, COP32, and COP33 as a single, connected political cycle. COP31 will focus on securing progress across the wider UNFCCC agenda—including adaptation, finance, just transitions, loss and damage, transparency, and mitigation—while launching GST-2.

 

The strategy includes dedicated support for Ethiopia’s COP31 Presidency to translate negotiation outcomes into concrete implementation, strengthen African priorities, and build political convergence for formal decisions at COP32.

 

By establishing COP31 as a foundation and COP32 as a milestone for consolidation, the AGN aims to maintain a coherent strategy through COP33. This multi-year framework is designed to strengthen Africa’s agency in multilateral climate negotiations and align global climate action directly with the continent's imperatives for sustainable development, energy access, adaptation, industrialisation, and economic transformation.

By Kofi Adu Domfeh  

CCDA-14: AGN Chair outlines four-pillar strategy for genuine African climate agency

The 14^th Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-14) opened at the United Nations Conference Centre, signaling a decisive continental transition from negotiating targets to delivering real-world implementation.

 

Convened by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the African Union Commission (AUC), the high-level summit will produce strategic frameworks to shape Africa's position ahead of COP31 in Antalya and lay the vital groundwork for an African-led COP32 in 2027.

 

Addressing the delegates at the opening ceremony, ECA Executive Secretary Claver Gatete delivered a direct warning against defining Africa's climate story purely by its vulnerability.

 

Although Africa contributes less than 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, it continues to face disproportionate climate-induced disasters. Gatete acknowledged that while the continent has set ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans, actual implementation continues to lag behind.

 

"We must not allow it to limit Africa's climate story to one of victimhood," Gatete declared. He pointed to finance as the primary obstacle, noting that Africa requires $277 billion annually to implement its NDCs through 2030, yet current global flows cover a mere 11 percent of this need.

 

Gatete argued that international finance must prioritize grants and concessional resources over debt-adding instruments, while leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to transform the continent’s mineral and renewable wealth into green jobs.

 

AUC Commissioner, Moses Vilakati put the challenge to the conference even more bluntly: the defining question for CCDA-14 is not what Africa expects from others, but "what Africa is prepared to propose".

 

Civil society representatives strongly aligned with this sentiment, with PACJA Executive Director Mithika Mwenda asserting that CCDA-14 cannot be "another talk shop" and must move previous commitments "from declaration to delivery".

In a pivotal presentation addressing the core meaning of African climate leadership, Nana Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, Chair of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN), outlined the pathway to true climate governance.

 

He argued that African climate agency is achieved when the continent moves away from a reactive posture, constantly responding to proposals drafted by external parties, and instead actively shapes the global agenda with technically grounded, credible, and unified African solutions.

 

The AGN is uniquely tasked with translating 54 diverse national interests into cohesive, unified common positions. To achieve this, the group coordinates across a rigorous three-tiered system, feeding technical inputs upward to the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) and receiving strategic political guidance from the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC).

 

To operationalize this proactive leadership, Dr. Amoah detailed the AGN’s structured framework for advancing continental agency across four essential pillars:

 

Narrative and Agenda-Setting Agency: Reframing global climate governance by linking climate action directly to equity and access to sustainable development, in compliance with the Paris Agreement.

 

Institutional Influence: Shaping the governance and policies of the UNFCCC Financial Mechanism—including the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Loss and Damage Fund—while driving COP decisions to reform Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and championing the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA).

 

Normative and Legal Influence: Advancing the operationalization of equity and Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) through equitable, just transition pathways.

 

Accountability and Implementation: Demanding that international parties fulfill their legal obligations under both the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.

 

For the long term, Dr. Amoah introduced the development of an African Common Platform. This platform is designed to protect developing nations' legitimate rights to sustainable development and poverty eradication.

Crucially, the platform rejects any trade-offs between climate action and development, asserting that Africa must secure the necessary "policy space" for industrialization and green value chains. This requires coordinating across broader international economic, trade, and financial systems to support local content and integrate African markets into global technology supply chains.

 

In the near term, the strategic roadmap runs directly to COP31 in Antalya and culminates in Ethiopia’s hosting of COP32 in 2027.

 

The AGN plans to use COP32 as a unified front to advance equity, close the massive adaptation finance gap, and table mature regional initiatives backed by clear financing and delivery plans.

 

As CCDA-14 continues through September 9, delegates are working to finalize a COP31 strategic framework and a unified African Common Position.

 

For the AGN, success means protecting the policy space for sustainable development, ensuring predictable finance, and securing a just and prosperous future for the entire continent.

 

AGN Chair demands urgent climate adaptation and food systems integration on road to COP32

As Africa prepares for two critical years of global climate diplomacy, the Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN), Nana Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, has issued a powerful call to align international climate negotiations with the daily realities of African communities.

 

Speaking in Addis Ababa at a continental convening of civil society organizations, Dr. Amoah urged African leaders and global partners to integrate agriculture and food systems into the core of climate policy, declaring that the continent must reject a "false choice" between feeding its people and protecting the planet.

 

"Africa must reject a false choice between food security and climate action," Dr. Amoah told an audience of farmers, pastoralists, policymakers, and civil society representatives. "We need both. Our task is to build food systems that are productive, resilient, inclusive and increasingly low-emission, while protecting development and avoiding unfair burdens on small producers."

 

The convening arrives at a pivotal moment, with the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, just over two months away, followed by the hosting of COP32 in Addis Ababa in late 2027.

 

Dr. Amoah emphasized that hosting the global summit on African soil is not enough to guarantee a favorable outcome for the continent's population.

"A COP held in Africa does not automatically deliver for Africa," Dr. Amoah warned. "It must be shaped by African priorities, evidence and solutions, and it must improve lives beyond the conference halls. Food systems are one of the clearest places where climate policy meets daily life."

 

According to the AGN Chair, the transition from COP30 in Belém to COP32 in Addis Ababa represents a vital shift from "rules and promises to delivery on the ground." He highlighted four critical "gaps" currently undermining global climate policy: the gaps between climate ambition and real-world implementation; between adaptation needs and available funding; between promised finance and direct access; and between global rules and the daily struggles of frontline communities.

 

Climate Adaptation: A Non-Negotiable Priority

 

For Africa, Dr. Amoah stressed, adapting to climate shocks is a matter of immediate survival and must remain the continent's "central, non-negotiable priority." While global mitigation efforts determine the future severity of the climate crisis, adaptation determines whether African families and economies can survive the crises already happening.

 

To illustrate these high stakes, Dr. Amoah grounded his speech in the practical experiences of ordinary Africans. He pointed to Ghana, where unpredictable rainfall patterns leave farmers unable to trust traditional seasons, resulting in lost seeds, wasted investments, and heavy debt.

 

"For that farmer, adaptation is not an abstract policy category," Dr. Amoah observed. "It is reliable climate information, the right seed, access to water, extension support and finance at the right time. That is what our negotiations must ultimately deliver."

 

He also spoke of the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, where drying water points force pastoralists to travel further for grazing land, turning climate challenges into localized resource competition and community tensions.

 

He further highlighted that climate shocks on farms quickly ripple into urban areas, impacting market women who face spoiled produce due to extreme heat and rising supply costs.

 

"A climate shock on a farm can therefore become a nutrition and cost-of-living problem in a city," Dr. Amoah explained. "That is why food systems must not sit at the margins of climate negotiations. They are where climate change enters the household."

 

Addressing the Massive Climate Finance Gap

 

At the heart of Africa’s climate vulnerability is a staggering deficit in adaptation funding. Dr. Amoah noted that developing nations are projected to require between USD 310 billion and USD 365 billion annually for adaptation by 2035. In stark contrast, international public adaptation finance from developed to developing countries stood at just USD 26 billion in 2023.

 

The AGN Chair criticized not only the size of the finance gap but also the excessive bureaucracy that prevents existing funds from reaching local actors, such as smallholders, youth enterprises, and women's cooperatives.

 

He shared the example of coastal fishers who need early-warning systems and better cold storage but are shut out by overly complex funding applications.

 

"We cannot call finance accessible if the people who need it most cannot reach it," Dr. Amoah asserted, calling for shorter, simpler, and less costly funding pipelines from global funds to local villages.

 

Seven Priorities for COP31 and the Vision for COP32

 

Looking ahead, Dr. Amoah outlined seven immediate priorities for the African continent at COP31 in Antalya to lay the groundwork for COP32:

 

1.   Protect balance by ensuring adaptation receives the same political attention as emissions mitigation.

2.   Turn the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) into funded action, keeping food security, water, and livelihoods highly visible.

3.   Secure a meaningful outcome on agriculture through the Sharm el-Sheikh joint work program.

4.   Deliver climate finance at scale, turning the target of USD 300 billion annually in public finance by 2035 into credible delivery.

5.   Ensure a 'just transition' that protects small producers, local value addition, and agricultural development space.

6.   Strengthen action on loss and damage with an easily accessible, well-resourced response fund.

7.   Defend fair cooperation and secure robust, meaningful participation for civil society, women, and Indigenous groups.

 

For COP32 in Addis Ababa, Dr. Amoah's vision includes a concrete "adaptation delivery package," direct finance access for local actors, and a transparent accountability system to track promises and public reporting. "The journey from COP30 to COP32 must be a journey from measurement to means, and from commitments to visible results," he stated.

 

Dr. Amoah closed by challenging African civil society organizations (CSOs) to unite and produce a clear roadmap with precise policy demands, an "African evidence package" of community case studies, and a strong plan for public accountability.

 

He emphasized that the AGN is strongest when backed by coordinated, evidence-based CSOs.

 

He reminded negotiators and advocates of the human lives behind the policy jargon: "When we sit in climate negotiations, we speak a language of NDCs, NAPs, adaptation indicators, finance mechanisms and COP decisions. These things matter. But I often remind myself of something very simple: the farmer waiting for rain does not experience climate change as an acronym. The woman who loses her produce because a road has been washed away does not call it an implementation gap. The pastoralist searching for water does not call it the Global Goal on Adaptation. And the family facing higher food prices does not call it a food-systems negotiation. They simply experience the consequences. Our responsibility is to make sure that what happens in the negotiating rooms eventually changes what happens on the farm, in the market, in the fishing community and around the family table."

 

The three-day convening in Addis Ababa will continue through September 9, as civil society networks work to finalize their unified policy positions ahead of the upcoming negotiations.

 

By Kofi Adu Domfeh