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 

AGN Chair urges action-driven tracking and reporting on inclusive climate adaptation in Ghana’s agriculture

Climate experts, government officials, and agricultural stakeholders have gathered in Accra for a three-day stakeholder engagement workshop focused on strengthening inclusive climate adaptation tracking and reporting within Ghana's agriculture sector.

 

Organized by the Alliance of Biodiversity International and CIAT, the African Group of Negotiators Expert Support (AGNES), and the University of Cape Town, in collaboration with Ghana's Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), the event aims to build capacity and align national reporting mechanisms with global standards.

 

The initiative comes as changing weather patterns, droughts, and rising temperatures continue to pose severe threats to Ghana's rainfed, smallholder-dominated agriculture sector.

 

Delivering the keynote remarks, Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN), Nana Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, emphasized that monitoring adaptation efforts must move beyond procedural paperwork to deliver concrete benefits for vulnerable communities.

 

"This is not only about reporting. It is about ensuring that our adaptation efforts are reaching the people who need them most and delivering results we can see, measure and build upon," Dr. Amoah stated.

 

He highlighted that as Ghana scales up resilience initiatives—such as promoting climate-resilient crops, early warning systems, and expanding irrigation—governments must evaluate the actual difference these projects make in farmers' lives.

 

"As governments, therefore, it is no longer sufficient to demonstrate that adaptation activities are being implemented," Dr. Amoah noted. "We must also be able to show whether those interventions are reducing vulnerability, strengthening resilience and reaching the people and communities that need them most". He added that "as we scale up adaptation action, our focus must increasingly shift from what we are doing to the difference those interventions are making".

 

Embedding Social Equity in Climate Data

 

A central theme of the workshop is integrating Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) considerations directly into national reporting templates to reflect the experiences of women, youth, and persons with disabilities. Warning against surface-level metrics, Dr. Amoah cautioned that traditional tracking risks overlooking marginalized groups.

 

"If our monitoring systems do not capture these differences, our reports may show progress while important groups remain behind," he stressed.

 

Reflecting on broader Pan-African priorities and international developments—such as the Belém Adaptation Indicators (BAI) adopted at COP30—the AGN Chair advocated for connecting global decision-making directly to local agricultural realities.

 

"The negotiating room and the farmer's field cannot exist as two separate worlds," Dr. Amoah asserted.

 

He pointed out that "good reporting begins long before the report is written," requiring clear institutional roles, established baselines, and structured data flows from district levels to national bodies.

 

As Ghana prepares its Second Biennial Transparency Report (BTR2) under the UNFCCC Enhanced Transparency Framework following its BTR1 submission in December 2024, the workshop serves as a technical foundation to map data producers, validators, and key indicators across subsectors.

 

Concluding his address, Dr. Amoah encouraged participants to look beyond meeting international reporting cycles to build a permanent, evidence-backed information system that drives climate finance and national policy.

 

"If we get this right, we will strengthen not only our reporting, but also the link between evidence, policy, finance and real action on the ground," he concluded.

 

by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

 

AGN Chair echoes need for Africa to translate strong climate negotiating positions into powerful outcomes

Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN), Nana Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, has acknowledged Africa’s strong negotiating positions in the global climate change talks.

 

He, however, says the continent needs to translate these positions into outcomes that are financed, implemented, and felt on the ground.

 

“Africa must move from positions to power,” he said while speaking at the Pre-SB64 Strategy Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, convened by the African Group of Negotiators Experts Support (AGNES). “Climate finance remains the central issue. The gap between commitments and delivery is still too wide. Africa must approach this with a stronger, more coordinated strategy”.

 

The meeting ahead of the Bonn Climate Conference builds directly on the AGN Strategic Session recently held in Accra, where African interest groups came together as a continent to reflect, align, and set direction for the next phase of their work.

 

“We recognized that, to be effective externally, we must strengthen our internal coordination, technical depth, and ability to act as a unified group. That is the foundation for everything else,” said the AGN Chair.

 

Dr. Amoah acknowledged the important role AGNES continues to play in strengthening Africa’s technical and negotiation capacity, emphasizing that the platform has become central to how Africa prepares, aligns, and engages effectively in the UNFCCC process.

 

“We are coming out of COP30 with important outcomes that now shape our work. The adoption of the Belém Gender Action Plan gives us a clear framework to advance gender-responsive climate action. At the same time, the work on agriculture under the Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Work continues to highlight the urgency of implementation, especially for Africa’s food systems and livelihoods.

 

“And alongside this, Article 6 is opening new opportunities to connect climate action with economic value, including for our communities but one thing we must be careful about is this – these are not separate conversations,” he stated.

 

He also emphasized that agriculture, gender, finance, and just transition must come together in a coherent African approach, adding that implementation does not happen in silos.

 

“As we look ahead to SB64, our task is straightforward. We must move beyond restating principles and begin to define how things will work: How implementation will happen on the ground. How will finance be accessed? And how our national systems will deliver results. And we must do this with a clear and united African voice.

 

“We must keep our eyes on what lies ahead. With COP32 to be hosted in Africa, we have a real opportunity to shape the global climate agenda from our own context. That opportunity will not organize itself. We must prepare for it deliberately, and that preparation starts here,” Dr. Amoah said.

 

Australia’s Counsellor for Climate Change (Africa), Liam Cosgrave, discussed climate change challenges and strategies for engagement across Africa in the lead-up to COP31.

 

Every year, Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), together with its Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, convene to assess progress in the global response to climate change. These sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies and the Conference of the Parties provide a platform for advancing negotiations, recommending decisions, and strengthening implementation of agreed outcomes.

 

The Pre-SB64 AGNES Strategy Meeting was therefore convened at a critical point in the broader climate negotiation process.

 

“Africa is not just participating in this process. Africa is helping to define what implementation should look like in real terms, grounded in development, equity, and justice. Our task now is to ensure that this is reflected in the outcomes we negotiate,” the AGN Chair noted.

 

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

 

 

COP28: Africa’s special needs and circumstances must be kept in focus, says AGN Chair

The African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN) expects climate stakeholders to keep in focus Africa’s special circumstances and needs as they prepare for the 28th session of United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) scheduled for Dubai, United Arab Emirates, later in November this year.

 

AGN Chair, Ephraim Mwepya Shitima, says African stakeholders should not lose focus of the key principle of equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capacities (CBDR-RC).

 

CBDR–RC acknowledges the different capabilities and differing responsibilities of individual countries in addressing climate change.

 

“The equity principle is very important as it takes into consideration and safeguards our interests and unique circumstances as a continent that contributes just about four percent to global emissions and yet suffers the most,” said Shitima, in a speech read for him by AGN Communication Specialist, Friday Phiri.

 

He was speaking at the official opening of a Pre-COP28 Strategy Meeting organised by the African Group of Negotiators Experts Support (AGNES) in Nairobi, Kenya. Delegates from over 31 African countries who are attending the meeting.

 

As the global conversation on the just transition gains momentum, Africa has repeatedly noted the importance for the continent to be accorded policy space required to develop and means of implementation support to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

 

The argument is that the just transition work programme must recognise and provide policy space and support in consideration of the continent's unique needs and development circumstances to ensure a fair and equitable shift to low-carbon and climate resilient development pathways.

 

“Our message for COP28 has also been very clear; that it should deliver ambitious, balanced, fair and just outcomes that should set the world on course to effectively address climate change on several fronts, including adaptation, loss and damage, finance and mitigation,” noted Shitima.

 

Earlier, AGNES Team Leader, George Wamukoya highlighted the need for continuous engagements and consultations between scientists and negotiators to ensure that Africa’s positions are watertight.

 

“As AGNES, we believe these interactions between scientists and negotiators are key in ensuring that our positions are framed to succeed as they enable negotiators to effectively engage their counterparts with facts and ensure that Africa’s voice is not just heard, but also respected and create the impact we all desire,” said Dr. Wamukoya.

 

Kenya’s Principal Secretary at the State Department of Environment and Climate Change, Eng. Festus Ng’eno welcomed the addition in the discussions, other important themes such as climate change and health, climate, peace and security as well as biodiversity and water to support a wholesome understanding of the climate crisis and its associated impacts.

 

“The impact on climate change to health as well as access to water for domestic, agricultural and industrial use is one area of growing concern. It is my hope that these great minds will deliberate on how to handle climate related health issues, including malnutrition, hunger, and water access issues that is a growing concern across the continent,” said Eng. Ng’eno.

 

The Pre-COP28 Strategy Meeting has been convened to reflect on SB58 outcomes, update negotiators on emerging areas of interest and discuss approaches for COP28.

 

“As you deliberate on the various themes during this crucial meeting, I urge you to keep in mind our special circumstances as Africa and the need for us to be allowed policy space and support to achieve sustainable development,” said the AGN Chair.

 

The AGN says it remains open for engagement and resolute to support Africa’s climate and development cause.

Active participation of legislators in climate action is critical —AGN Chair

Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN), Ephraim Mwepya Shitima, has emphasised the need for concerted measures to encourage the active participation of African legislators in climate action.

He notes the important oversight role that parliaments play in policy making and implementation through their legislative and oversight mandates such as approval and monitoring of national budgets.

“Under the Paris Agreement, Parties have made commitments through Nationally Determined Contributions. These national commitments require resources, and our Parliamentarians are critical as they not only approve national budgets but also provide the oversight role of monitoring budget performance and implementation,” said Mr. Shitima. As AGN, we therefore believe that our law makers across the continent must actively be involved in climate processes. We are grateful to partners such as AGNES for their initiative to engage our parliamentarians, and welcome efforts from other partners to get law makers involved”.

According to the African Group of Negotiators Experts Support (AGNES), despite their critical role, parliaments in Africa are least prepared to effectively participate and play their oversight role on implementation of climate response actions.

While legislation has a crucial role to play by capturing political momentum and establishing strong systems to drive delivery of the desired national and international climate commitments, only a few countries in Africa have so far put in place relevant climate change legislation – Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda.

Similarly, Parliaments have a fundamental role in budget approval – public expenditure and revenue-raising – decisions and holding government to account.

“However, in most countries, there is very little relationship between the NDCs and the national budgets, yet most countries have indicated in their NDCs domestic financing contribution in the implementation of their NDCs,” notes George Wamukoya, AGNES Team Lead. “It is against the foregoing that AGNES has been convening regional parliamentary meetings to engage law makers and raise awareness on their critical role in supporting climate action at international, regional, national and local levels.” 

After the regional parliamentary meeting for West Africa held earlier in the year, the latest meeting to be convened is the Southern African regional meeting, which opened in Gaborone, Botswana, on 25^th September, 2023, organised in with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Botswana, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Botswana, the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and other partners.

Officially opening the meeting, Botswana’s Acting Minister of Environment and Tourism, Mabuse Pule said climate change legislation must be part of a larger policy framework that supports equitable, sustainable, and inclusive development.

“Climate change action presents numerous significant challenges for legislators,” said Hon. Pule. “For starters, this phenomenon is inextricably tied to a wide range of other challenges and development goals. Climate change will have an extreme and long-term influence on agriculture, food production, energy availability and production, health and water security, to name a few. As a result, climate change legislation must be part of a larger policy framework that supports equitable, sustainable and inclusive development.”

In recent years, the international response to climate change has become increasingly elaborate and prominent, requiring countries to prepare, communicate and maintain a five-year-cycle of nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Countries are thus encouraged to align NDCs with their long-term low greenhouse gas emission and climate resilient development strategies (LTSs).

And this was a point emphasised by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Resident Representative for Botswana, Balázs Horváth, who also highlighted the importance of Africa’s unified voice as the continent prepares for COP28.

“This workshop has come at an opportune moment, when the international community is preparing for COP 28…and the importance of articulating a common African voice at COP28 and arguing for allocation of responsibility for financing the transition toward a net-zero world according to each country’s share in cumulative GHG emissions to date,” said Horváth.

Speaking earlier, Dr. Unity Dow, Chair of the Botswana Parliamentary Committee on the Environment highlighted some of the climate change vulnerabilities that the Southern African region faces, and the need for law makers to be actively involved at all levels.

“The SADC region is extremely sensitive to climate change impacts… floods and other natural disasters continue to plunge more people into poverty. This will require our capacities as legislators to adopt necessary legislative and administrative measures to enhance adaptation and advocate for financial and technical support from different sources to advance climate action,” said Dr. Dow.

The SADC Parliamentary meeting on Climate Change has brought together Chairs of Parliamentary Committees responsible for climate change, Chairs of Parliamentary Committees responsible for agriculture, parliamentary staff supporting the parliamentary committee responsible for climate change matters and other relevant resources persons.

“We are aware of the frequency and magnitude of climate risks including tropical cyclones in within the region. This has a cost on our people and the economy. Therefore, as MPs, you have a responsibility to our people. We hope this is the beginning of our conversation and assure you of our readiness to support and work with you,” concluded Dr. Geroge Wamukoya.

 

AGN welcomes efforts to address Africa’s climate science knowledge gap

The African Group of Negotiators Expert Support (AGNES) making efforts to address Africa’s climate science knowledge gaps in relation to the continent’s contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

AGNES is a continental think tank providing technical support to the AGN to advance common Africa position on climate change under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

AGN Chair, Ephraim Mwepya Shitima says Africa’s technical negotiators have been yearning for scientific-based evidence to be informed from an African perspective.

“The IPCC is the designated scientific voice on climate science; it is therefore critical for our continent, which contributes very little and yet suffers the most, to be well represented in this body of science,” he said. “As AGN, we support every effort that African institutions such as AGNES, are making to improve the continent’s participation in the climate science discourse. This is particularly important for technical negotiators who have been yearning for scientific-based evidence to be informed from an African perspective.” 

In an effort to close the identified science knowledge gap, AGNES, in collaboration with the Kenya Meteorological Department, Kenya’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MEF), the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and other scientists/experts from Africa are convening in Nairobi to discuss important climate science knowledge gaps that are unique to the continent.

The meeting is seen as an opportunity for African scientists and experts to identify priority areas critical for the continent, and suggest inclusion during the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) outline scoping plenary. The main aim is to stimulate and catalyse research activities geared towards addressing the identified knowledge gaps and provide an opportunity for greater involvement of African scholars/scientists.

Officially opening the meeting in Nairobi, Principal Secretary at the Kenyan State Department of Environment and Climate Change, Ing. Festus Ng’eno emphasised the importance of ensuring that Africa’s voices are loud enough in the climate science discourse considering the continent’s vulnerability to negative impacts of climate change.

“The products in the 6^th assessment cycle show an improvement in the representation of African issues, however there is still a major room for improvement,” he said. “It is alarming that only 11% of authors of the assessment report are from Africa despite Africa being one of the world’s most vulnerable continents to the impacts of climate change. It is crucial to ensure that African voices are well-represented when finding solutions, crucial too is the inclusion of the role of indigenous and local knowledge systems as well as adequate gender representation.”

Africa’s capacity to cope

While climate change is a global problem, Africa suffers its consequences disproportionately due to its limited capacity to cope. To make the matters worse, the continent contributes less than 4% to global warming emissions.

It is for this reason that there is a clarion call for Africa to be well supported in terms of adaptation finance as well as ensuring the continent’s voices are loud enough in the climate science discourse and on the negotiation table.

Experts across Africa have identified three main barriers to the continent’s scientists and scholars’ active participation and representation in the IPCC.

Firstly, there is limited publication by African scholars/scientists on African climate-related issues. High publishing costs, it is acknowledged, continue to keep African scientists/ scholars out of top science journals.

Secondly, there is a noted disjoint or weak link between the IPCC National Focal Points and the universities and/or research organizations.

Thirdly, serving as a contributing author is not compensated financially, and this is said to be a deterrent to the participation of scientists from countries that continue to work with limited resources.

Some of the solutions that the meeting aims to bring on board include having a common African position on the gaps identified, creation of an awareness and outreach programme to enhance National Focal Points’ link with policymakers, universities/ research institutions and putting in place a support system for African scientists to publish in peer-reviewed journals.

AGNES Team Lead and convener of the meeting, Dr. George Wamukoya, noted the urgent need to fill the identified science knowledge gaps to improve representation of African issues in the IPCC assessments.

“Undoubtedly, there is an urgent need to fill the existing gaps in knowledge as well as anticipate the direction of science and research in the field of climate change and reflect this in published papers,” he notes. “This will improve the representation of African issues in the IPCC assessments. The question is, how does Africa plan to contribute towards addressing these knowledge gaps? It is my hope that this convening will get the most strategic solutions to ensure that representation is timely, accurate and inclusive.” 

Meanwhile, African Climate Research Fellow, Professor Chukwuemeka Diji is elated that such a meeting was taking place at a time when the IPCC Sixth Assessment report clearly indicates how Africa’s ability to adapt was being pushed to its limits.

“This meeting has become very important and expedient because the AR6 report shows that Africa’s ability to adapt is being pushed to its limits, calling for urgent action to create awareness and knowledge to urgently reverse the situation and reverse the dangerous direction. This week’s convening will set the groundwork to highlight the exposure and vulnerability of Africa to climate change and its multi–dimensional, socio–economic and political dimensions. Additionally, we also need to identify, scale – up and evaluate the current and future benefits of Adaptation to Africa while also including the voices of African scientists/ scholars.”