Beyond the negotiating table: African climate lead demands action for local communities at Liberia Summit

At a strategic gathering of climate negotiators and national focal points, the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) issued a direct call to prioritize local implementation over international diplomacy alone, warning that global agreements mean little if they do not empower everyday citizens.

 

Delivering the opening address at the Strategic Meeting on Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) in Liberia, AGN Chair Nana Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah stressed that the true value of climate governance must be measured by what changes beyond the negotiating room.

 

Addressing representatives of the Government of Liberia, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Liberia, national ACE focal points, and development partners, Dr. Amoah highlighted the persistent distance between high-level policy decisions and ground-level execution.

 

"We can negotiate the most ambitious climate agreements, mobilise substantial resources and develop sophisticated national policies," Dr. Amoah stated. "But their success will ultimately depend on the people and institutions expected to put them into practice".

 

He emphasized that national commitments—including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs)—must translate into actionable guidance for district planning officers, accessible climate data for farmers deciding when to plant, and meaningful decision-making roles for youth and women.

 

Framed under Article 6 of the UNFCCC and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement, ACE provides an international framework for climate education, training, public awareness, public participation, access to information, and international cooperation.

 

However, Dr. Amoah pointed out that African institutions face severe financial and technical constraints when attempting to expand these programs.

 

"We cannot keep raising implementation expectations without addressing the means required to deliver them," Dr. Amoah cautioned.

 

He insisted that financing, capacity-building, technology, and international cooperation remain central to Africa's unified negotiating position as countries prepare for COP31, following the midterm review of the Glasgow work programme initiated at SB64 in Bonn.

 

Unifying Africa's Voice for COP31 and COP32

 

By bringing together both international negotiators and national focal points, the Liberia meeting sought to align diplomatic strategy with practical implementation challenges on the ground. Looking ahead to COP32, which will be hosted in Africa, Dr. Amoah framed climate empowerment as essential for building resilient economies, capable institutions, and informed societies across the continent.

 

"The real test of climate diplomacy is not only what we succeed in negotiating, but what our countries and communities are subsequently empowered to achieve," Dr. Amoah reflected.

 

Closing his address, the AGN Chair urged delegates to maintain a clear vision of climate governance that directly serves local communities:

"Africa's climate future will not be shaped by negotiations alone. It will also be shaped by the knowledge, capabilities and choices of its people".

 

by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

 

African climate negotiators rally youth for action ahead of COP31 and COP32

Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN), Dr. Nana Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, has urged international partners and young advocates to unite around an integrated climate agenda focused on resilience, equity, and practical action.

 

The Regional Conference of Youth (RCOY) Africa 2026 held in Accra, Ghana, centered on the theme "Driving Integrated Solutions across Africa’s Climate Agenda for Impact, Resilience and Justice," highlighting the urgent need to translate international negotiating priorities into tangible community outcomes.

 

Speaking to diplomats, policymakers, and youth delegates, Dr. Amoah emphasized that climate change cannot be treated as an isolated environmental concern, noting that it directly impacts food security, water availability, energy access, public health, and economic development across the continent.

 

Representing the collective voice of African nations within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the AGN Chair outlined core negotiating priorities, including adaptation, predictable climate finance, loss and damage mechanisms, technology transfer, and a just energy transition.

 

Dr. Amoah stressed that African countries must be enabled to pursue vital development aspirations while receiving support for a crisis they contributed relatively little to causing.

 

"Addressing these challenges requires an integrated approach that connects international climate negotiations with national policies, regional cooperation and implementation at the community level," Dr. Amoah noted, adding that adaptation ambitions require predictable finance and technical capacity at all levels.

 

Turning to climate diplomacy, Dr. Amoah highlighted the vital role of Africa's youth demographic in driving innovation, community mobilization, and technical research across issues such as renewable energy, environmental governance, and climate adaptation. However, he underscored that youth engagement must extend far beyond attendance numbers.

 

"The objective is not simply to have more young people present in climate diplomacy, but to strengthen their capacity to contribute to the substance of the decisions being made."

He urged young climate leaders to approach negotiating processes with preparation, discipline, and evidence-based advocacy—including analyzing negotiating texts, conducting credible research, and building constructive relationships with policymakers. At the same time, he called on governments and institutions to remain open to the proposals and evidence presented by younger generations.

 

As negotiations build momentum ahead of COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, and look forward to COP32 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2027, Dr. Amoah called on RCOY Africa delegates to generate clear, actionable recommendations capable of informing national policy and shaping negotiating strategies.

 

He reaffirmed the AGN's commitment to collaboration, urging global partners and African institutions to ensure youth contributions have meaningful opportunities to inform collective climate action so African communities receive the support needed for long-term resilience.\

by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

African group demands action on climate finance and adaptation ahead of COP 31

Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN), Nana Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah has called on the international community to honor existing climate agreements across finance, adaptation, and development to rebuild trust in the multilateral climate process.

 

Addressing the incoming COP 31 Presidency during virtual informal consultations on October 14, 2026, Dr. Amoah stressed that keeping the 1.5°C goal within reach and accelerating implementation depend directly on providing developing nations with the necessary resources to act.

 

"Developing countries need the means to act, and the multilateral system has to deliver on what it has already agreed," Dr. Amoah stated, outlining the African Group’s key priorities across three central clusters: climate finance, adaptation, and climate and development.

 

Under the climate finance agenda, the AGN Chair urged Parties to move beyond delay and translate previous agreements into operational progress. Specifically, he called on CMA 8 to advance substantive discussions on Article 9.1 under the Climate Finance Work Programme agreed in Belém.

 

"Its provisions are clear, and they cannot keep being put off. Let’s deliver on what we agreed on," Dr. Amoah emphasized.

 

Additionally, the African Group called for a clear signal regarding the replenishment of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), emphasizing that the COP should utilize existing mandates to assess developing countries' financial needs to inform resource mobilization.

 

On the Adaptation Fund, Dr. Amoah noted that negotiation text is ready and urged the COP to mandate the Board to commence transition arrangements so the fund can serve the Paris Agreement using Article 6.4 share of proceeds.

 

Addressing adaptation priorities, Dr. Amoah proposed establishing a technical task force to advance work on adaptation indicators, metadata, and methodologies. Clarifying the scope of this initiative to reassure negotiating partners, he noted that the AGN is not advocating for a permanent administrative body.

 

"Let me reassure Parties that the African Group is not seeking a permanent body. We emphasise the agreement on a two-year process focused on metadata and methodologies," Dr. Amoah noted, expressing confidence that this technical work could be concluded in the first week of negotiations.

 

The AGN Chair further highlighted the urgent need for structured discussions on tripling adaptation finance by 2035 and pursuing the Global Goal on Adaptation in line with Articles 9.1, 10, and 11 of the Paris Agreement.

 

He stressed that defining clear baselines and financing trajectories is essential for multilateral credibility. "This matters for trust in the multilateral system. We cannot simply set aside what we agreed before," he warned.

 

In the cluster on climate and development, Dr. Amoah prioritized the operationalization of the Just Transition Mechanism and the continuation of the Just Transition Work Programme. He advocated for a two-tier institutional architecture encompassing technical and political dimensions, with a clear focus on securing financing modalities that connect UNFCCC processes with external actors.

 

Turning to international trade, Dr. Amoah reaffirmed Africa's active engagement in the Climate Change and Trade Dialogue, insisting that its outcomes must feed into the high-level roundtable expected from the Subsidiary Bodies.

 

"That process must be owned by Parties, not left only to the Chairs," Dr. Amoah insisted.

 

Concluding his intervention, Dr. Amoah expressed the African Group’s readiness to work collaboratively across all delegations.

 

"The African Group stands ready to work with you and all Parties toward a COP 31 that delivers implementation, finance and trust," he concluded.

 

by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

Asantehene to lead environmental restoration effort at Jimi Land Reclamation Site

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, will undertake a royal visit to the Jimi Land Reclamation and River Watercourse Rehabilitation Project near Obuasi on Wednesday, October 14, 2026.

 

During the visit, he will plant trees and inspect Lot 1, marking a major milestone in restoring lands severely degraded by unregulated small-scale mining.

 

The environmental initiative responds to widespread damage caused by unregulated small-scale gold mining, known as galamsey, which has stripped forest vegetation, contaminated soils, and left hazardous open, water-filled pits across the Obuasi and Adansi areas.

 

Toxic runoff and heavy sediment buildup along the Jimi River threaten the Jimi Dam, a critical source of drinking water for communities across the Adanse Traditional Area.

 

The reclamation effort stems from Otumfuo’s advocacy against illegal mining during the Mining in Motion forum, which led to the creation of the Ashanti Green Initiative.

 

Operating as the initiative's flagship pilot project, the Jimi reclamation brings together key institutional partners, including the Manhyia Palace, providing overall strategic vision and royal patronage; Ashanti Green Initiative, serving as project lead on behalf of the Asantehene and drives community engagement; and AngloGold Ashanti, delivering technical and operational support.

 

Others are Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, overseeing policy, permitting, and security enforcement through NAIMOS and the Blue Water Guard; and the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), providing regulatory guidance for ecological restoration along the river and buffer zones.

 

Covering 153 hectares across three designated lots in the Obuasi East Municipality as well as the Adansi Akrofuom and Adansi Asokwa Districts, the pilot targets heavily impacted sites near Gyimisokakraba, Ayease, and Akwesi Ankromakrom.

 

Restoration works are structured around a six-step process: Backfilling open mining pits and deep gullies; Re-grading spoil heaps and terracing steep slopes; Containing, capping, or removing heavy-metal soil contamination; Installing drainage and erosion control structures to safeguard the river corridor; Restoring and enriching topsoil health; and replanting the land with kenaf, a commercial fibre crop.

 

Due to residual heavy-metal contamination risks in the soil, kenaf was selected over food crops. The fast-growing fibre crop will be harvested for manufacturing sacks, rope, and eco-composites, establishing a secure income stream for local farmers.

 

Long-term project plans include continuous water testing to protect the Jimi Dam, as well as ongoing tracking of soil, vegetation, biodiversity, and community health outcomes.

 

Organizers intend for the Jimi pilot to serve as a national model to rehabilitate other mining-damaged land and water systems across Ghana.

 

By Kofi Adu Domfeh 

Africa Climate Negotiation: AGN Chair demands delivery over promises ahead of COP31

The Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN), Nana Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, has issued a strong call for global climate talks to move from pledges to tangible action, declaring that COP31 in Antalya must be defined by delivery rather than another cycle of unfulfilled promises.

 

Speaking at the African Group of Negotiators Expert Support (AGNES) Pre-COP31 Strategy Meeting in Nairobi, Dr. Amoah stressed that the global climate process faces a critical test of legitimacy.

 

He warned that the credibility of international negotiations now hinges on a singular question: whether the system can actually deliver implementation on the ground.

 

Highlighting Africa's core priorities across adaptation, agriculture, loss and damage, climate finance, and just transition, the AGN Chair emphasized that the continent's demands are fundamental conditions for sustainable development.

 

"When Africa speaks about adaptation, agriculture, finance, loss and damage, just transition and means of implementation, we are not presenting a list of negotiating preferences," Dr. Amoah asserted. "We are rather talking about the conditions under which our countries can develop, protect their people and build resilient economies in a changing climate."

 

Addressing the financial architecture, Dr. Amoah called for predictable, scalable, grant-based climate finance for adaptation, rejecting any framing of climate support as international charity.

 

"Africa is not asking for charity," he declared. "We are asking for an international financial architecture capable of responding fairly to a global problem for which responsibility and vulnerability are profoundly unequal."

 

He further insisted that the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage must be adequately resourced, responsive, and direct support where it is needed most. "Success cannot be measured by the existence of institutions alone," Dr. Amoah added. "It must ultimately be measured by whether support reaches countries and communities confronting losses they did little to cause."

 

On energy policy and industrial strategy, Dr. Amoah warned against uniform transition frameworks that ignore regional economic realities. He stressed that a just transition for Africa must prioritize energy access, clean cooking, poverty eradication, and green industrialization.

 

"Africa cannot simply export raw materials required for the global transition while importing finished technologies at significantly higher value," Dr. Amoah stated. "The transition must create value in Africa, build industries in Africa, strengthen skills in Africa, and create jobs for Africans. That is part of climate justice too."

 

He also cautioned negotiators to scrutinize emerging global trade policies, insisting that climate measures must not become a new basis for economic protectionism or inequitable economic relationships.

 

Dr. Amoah outlined a strategic continuum connecting major climate milestones—which he framed as "B2A2A" (Belém to Antalya to Addis Ababa). Under this roadmap, outcomes secured at COP31 in Antalya must establish a firm technical and political foundation for COP32, scheduled to take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2027.

 

He stressed that strong political positioning requires rigorous African technical evidence, praising AGNES for bridging the gap between scientific research and diplomatic negotiations.

 

"At COP31, Africa must not simply be present at the table," Dr. Amoah concluded. "Africa must help shape what comes out of the room."

 

By Kofi Adu Domfeh