Religious leaders make six demands for Africa Climate Summit

Faith leaders have condemned the inaction among those responsible for the climate crisis and blamed the Global North for hijacking the Africa Climate Summit.

In a statement read at the historical Ufungamano House in Nairobi, on the sidelines of the Africa Climate Summit, representatives from the Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities from diverse denominations said the event ignored the most crucial voices in the effort to address the climate crisis.

They made six demands. On Climate Finance, they said: “We are cognizant of the fact that there has not been adequate financial support directed to the African continent despite efforts and commitments from the developed countries to avail the same. The African Climate Summit presents an opportunity for developed countries, who have contributed the most to the climate crisis, to move beyond rhetoric and deliver on the long due finance.

The leaders pushed for funds to compensate victims of Loss and Damage, adding that the continent anticipated “severest adverse effects of human-induced climate change, compared to most other regions of the world due to a relatively low adaptive capacity”.

They called for operationalization, “including capitalization by rich countries, of the loss and damage fund to offer relief to Global South countries through provision of grant financing.”

Others were “Youth and Green Jobs”, in recognition of the demographics’ growth in numbers. “We call upon African leaders to adopt a plan of action with robust policy and regulatory measures necessary for African countries to implement and support the growth of inclusive green economies that can provide jobs for the youth”. Others were support for research and innovation to advance greener economic diversification and growth, strategies that facilitate development of financial solutions among others.

The fourth demand was on Climate Adaptation, with a call for the African Climate Week to “have clear implementation plans on the strengthening of adaptation actions and resilience against the consequences of the climate crisis as one of its core outcomes”.

The faith leaders addressed Fossil Fuel Phase-out and Supporting of Renewable energy access, as well as Agriculture, Food Security and Sovereignty.

“As guardians of spiritual wisdom and moral guidance, we are disheartened by how actions to tackle climate change fall short of the required urgent ambition. The values of stewardship, empathy, justice, equity and solidarity as enshrined in our faith traditions must guide every decision and action that is taken at the Africa Climate Summit and Week,” the statement read in part.

Speaking after reading the statement yesterday, Sheikh Ibrahim Lethome of the Islamic Religious Council said the youth were crucial in achieving action through agriculture and several sectors. He emphasized the need for the voices of faith leaders in climate change discussions, as a moral guide to the rest of the world to restore Mother Earth’s well-being.

“I have never seen someone buy a car but use it in ways that are not stated in the user manual. I have never seen anyone add porridge, black tea or soda to a fuel tank. Religion is an asset in reclaiming our environment. God created what’s good for us, and we need to follow the user’s manual. Our hope lies in going back to the user’s manual. We need to guide politicians. It is never about the cart leading the horse,” he said.

The cleric asked African leaders to have the interest of the continent at the summit that was condemned for locking out many and looking like lecture halls.

Bishop Chediel Elinaza Sendoro from Tanzanian called for reclamation of the faiths place in ensuring societal wellbeing, and encouraged youth to stay on course in the fight to stop the climate crisis.

Bishop Hassan Kukah from Nigeria, asked youth to “decide what type of seat they want at the decision making table”, and called for personal responsibility to achieve climate action.

“As we apportion God and governments blame and responsibility for the climate crisis, we must also remember to look inwards and decisively deal with corruption, locally, even as we deal with it internationally,” he said.

The cleric added that the climate conversation had to start locally, and go beyond issuing of statements. “The young people are far more equipped. They can borrow our voices as we seek to use their energy,” he said.

Sujarta Kotamraju of the Hindu Religious Council said all holy books commanded protection of the environment. “Before plastic, we survived. Now it messes animals in parks, water falls, oceans and all creations therein,” she said, adding her joy at the meeting’s participant’s decision to ask the hotel to serve them water in glasses rather than plastic bottles.

Ms Kotamraju urged youth to employ their energy and agility to demand climate justice from their leaders, while at the same time championing the wellbeing of the same in their surroundings. “If you take care of the environment it will take care of you,” she said.

Charles Chilufya, a cleric from Zambia, urged Africans to ensure locally-led climate action. “Growing climate finance is important, but must not be the only focus. Lives are at risk. We need to have more respect for human and other creations’ dignity, as well as compassion to boost action,” he said.

Jessica Mwali, a youth from Zambia, asked the religious leaders to push for the recognition of Africa as a special case, to stop the idea of the continent being loaned money to address the challenges of climate change. “The money should come to Africa in the form of grants, not loans,” she said.

A Ugandan cleric named Matobu asked the participants to be good stewards of God’s creations. “Just like humans, trees are crying and the environment is equally tired. We need to incorporate teachings that encourage treating of God’s creation’s as per His command,” he said.

He called upon youth to loudly speak out on the climate issues, and grab their rightful space to offer solutions. “We don’t need the support of the West to teach our people to treat the environment right,” he said.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Sheikh Lethome gave participants food for thought: “We cannot go to heaven without preparing a better place on earth. You must treat the environment right to earn your rightful place in heaven.”

The African Leaders Nairobi Declaration on Climate Change and Call to Action

PREAMBLE 

We, the African Heads of State and Government, gathered for the inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS) in Nairobi, Kenya, from 4^th to 6^th September 2023; in the presence of other global leaders, intergovernmental organizations, Regional Economic Communities, United Nations Agencies, private sector, civil society organizations, indigenous peoples, local communities, farmer organizations, children, youth, women and academia, hereby:

 

1.     Recall, the Assembly Decisions (AU/Dec.723(XXXII), AU/Dec.764 (XXXIII) and

AU/Dec.855(XXXVI)) requesting the African Union Commission to organize an African

Climate Summit and endorsing the offer by the Republic of Kenya to host the Summit;

 

2.     Commend the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) under the Leadership of H.E. President William Ruto for providing a unified approach and political leadership on an African vision that simultaneously pursues climate change and development agenda;

 

3.     Commend the Arab Republic of Egypt for the successful COP27 and its historic outcomes, particularly regarding loss and damage, just transition and energy, and call for the full implementation of all COP27 decisions

 

4.     Take Note of the 6th Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), stating that the world is not on track to keeping within reach the 1.5°C limit agreed in Paris and that global emissions must be cut by 43% in this decade;

 

5.     Underscore the IPCC confirmation that Africa is warming faster than the rest of the world and, if unabated, climate change will continue to have adverse impacts on African economies and societies, and hamper growth and wellbeing;

 

6.     Express concern that many African countries face disproportionate burdens and risks arising from climate change-related, unpredictable weather events and patterns, including prolonged droughts, devastating floods, wildfires, which cause massive humanitarian crisis with detrimental impacts on economies, health, education, peace and security, among other risks;

 

7.     Acknowledge that climate change is the single greatest challenge facing humanity and the single biggest threat to all life on Earth. It demands urgent and concerted action from all nations to lower emissions and reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere; 

 

8.     Recognise that Africa is not historically responsible for global warming, but bears the brunt of its effect, impacting lives, livelihoods, and economies;

 

9.     Reaffirm the principles set out in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Paris Agreement, namely equity, common but

differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities,  

 

10.  Recall that only seven years remain to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, and note with concern that 600 million people in Africa still lack access to electricity while 970 million lack access to clean cooking; 

 

11.   Concerned that despite Africa having an estimated 40 percent of the world’s renewable energy resources, only $60 billion or two percent of US$3 trillion renewable energy investments in the last decade have come to Africa,

 

12.   Further recognise that African cities and urban centres are growing rapidly, and by 2050 would be home to over 1.0 billion people.  Cognisant of the fact that rapid urbanization, poverty, and inequality limit planning capacities and other urban dynamics which increase people’s exposure and vulnerability to hazards and have thus turned cities into disaster hotspots across the continent.

 

13.   Emphasise that Africa possesses both the potential and the ambition to be a vital component of the global solution to climate change. As home to the world’s youngest and fastest-growing workforce, coupled with massive untapped renewable energy potential, abundant natural assets and entrepreneurial spirit, our continent has the fundamentals to spearhead a climate compatible pathway as a thriving, costcompetitive industrial hub with the capacity to support other regions in achieving their net zero ambitions. 

 

14.   Reiterate Africa’s readiness to create an enabling environment, enact policies and facilitate investments necessary to unlock resources to meet our own climate commitments, and contribute meaningfully to decarbonisation of the global economy.

 

15.   Recognize the important role of forests in Africa, in particular the Congo Basin rainforest in regulating global climate change

 

16.   Further recognize the critical importance of the oceans in climate action and commitments made on ocean sustainability in multiple fora such as the Second UN Oceans Conference in 2022, and the Moroni Declaration for Ocean and Climate Action in Africa in 2023

 

Collective action needed. 

 

17.   We call upon the global community to act with urgency in reducing emissions, fulfilling its obligations, keeping past promises, and supporting the continent in addressing climate change, specifically to: 

 

i)       Accelerate all efforts to reduce emissions to align with goals set forth in the Paris

Agreement  ii) Honor the commitment to provide $100 billion in annual climate finance, as promised 14 years ago at the Copenhagen conference. iii) Uphold commitments to a fair and accelerated process of phasing down coal, and abolishment of all fossil fuel subsidies.

 

18.   We call for climate-positive investments that catalyse a growth trajectory, anchored in the industries poised to transform our planet and enable African countries to achieve stable middle-income status by 2050. 

 

19.   We urge global leaders to join us in seizing this unprecedented opportunity to accelerate global decarbonization, while pursuing equality and shared prosperity;

 

20.  We call for the operationalization of the Loss & Damage fund as agreed at COP27 and resolve for a measurable Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) with indicators and targets to enable assessment of progress against negative impacts of climate change

 

We commit to: 

 

21.   Developing and implementing policies, regulations and incentives aimed at attracting local, regional and global investment in green growth and inclusive economies;

 

22.  Propelling Africa's economic growth and job creation in a manner that limits our own emissions and also aids global decarbonization efforts, by leapfrogging traditional industrial development and fostering green production and supply chains on a global scale;

 

23.  Focusing our economic development plans on climate-positive growth, including expansion of just energy transitions and renewable energy generation for industrial activity, climate smart and restorative agricultural practices, and essential protection and enhancement of nature and biodiversity; 

 

24.  Strengthening actions to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, deforestation, desertification, as well to restore degraded lands to achieve land degradation neutrality;

 

25.  Strengthening continental collaboration, which is essential to enabling and advancing green growth, including but not limited to regional and continental grid interconnectivity, and further accelerating the operationalization of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement;

 

26.  Advancing green industrialization across the Continent by prioritizing energy-intense industries to trigger a virtuous cycle of renewable energy deployment and economic activity, with a special emphasis on adding value to Africa's natural endowments; 

 

27.  Redoubling our efforts to boost agricultural yields through sustainable agricultural practices, to enhance food security while minimizing negative environmental impacts;

 

28.  Taking the lead in the development of global standards, metrics, and market mechanisms to accurately value and compensate for the protection of nature, biodiversity, socio-economic co-benefits, and the provision of climate services;

 

29.  Finalising and implementing the African Union Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, with the view to realizing the 2050 vision of living in harmony with nature;

 

30.  Providing all the necessary reforms and support required to raise the share of renewable energy financing to at least 20 percent by by 2030.

 

31.   Integrating climate, biodiversity and ocean agendas into national plans and processes in order to ensure their contribution to sustainable development, livelihoods and sustainability objectives, and to increase the resilience of local communities, coastal areas and national economies;

 

32.  Supporting smallholder farmers, indigenous peoples, and local communities in the green economic transition given their key role in ecosystems stewardship;

 

33.  Identifying, prioritizing and mainstreaming adaptation into development policymaking and planning, including in the context of national plans and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs);

 

34.  Building effective partnership between Africa and other regions, to meet the needs for financial, technical and technological support, and knowledge sharing for climate change adaptation;

 

35.  Promoting investments in urban infrastructure including through upgrading informal settlements and slum areas to build climate resilient cities and urban centres.  

 

36.  Strengthening early warning systems and climate information services, as well as taking early action to protect lives, livelihoods and assets and inform long-term decisionmaking related to climate change risks. We emphasise the importance of embracing indigenous knowledge and citizen science in both adaptation strategies and early warning systems;

 

37.  Enhancing drought resilience systems to shift from crisis management to proactive drought preparedness and adaptation, to significantly reduce drought vulnerability of people, economic activities, and ecosystems

 

38.  Accelerating implementation of the African Union Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy and Action Plan (2022-2032)

 

CALL TO ACTION

39.  Call upon world leaders to appreciate that decarbonizing the global economy is also an opportunity to contribute to equality and shared prosperity;

 

40.  Invite Development Partners from both the global south and north to align and coordinate their technical and financial resources directed toward Africa to promote sustainable utilization of Africa’s natural assets for the continent’s progression toward low carbon development, and contributing to global decarbonization;

 

41.   To accomplish this vision of economic transformation in harmony with our climate needs, we call upon the international community to contribute to the following:

 

i)       Increasing Africa’s renewable generation capacity from 56 GW in 2022 to at least 300 GW by 2030, both to address energy poverty and to bolster the global supply of cost-effective clean energy for industry;

ii)      Shifting the energy intensive primary processing of Africa’s raw material exports to the continent, also to serve as an anchor demand for our renewable energy and a means of rapidly reducing global emissions; 

iii)    Call for access to and transfer of environmentally sound technologies, including technologies that consist of processes and innovation methods to support Africa’s green industrialisation and transition. 

iv)    Designing global and regional trade mechanisms in a manner that enables products from Africa to compete on fair and equitable terms;

v)     Request that trade-related environmental tariffs and non-tariff barriers must be subject to multilateral discussions and agreements and not be unilateral, arbitrary or discriminatory measures; 

vi)    Accelerating efforts to decarbonize the transport, industrial and electricity sectors through the use of smart, digital and highly efficient technologies and systems.

vii)   Designing industry policies that incentivize global investment to locations that offer the most and substantial climate benefits, while ensuring benefits for local communities;

viii)  Implementing a mix of measures that elevate Africa share of carbon markets. 

 

42.  Reiterate the decision 31/ COP27 that a global transformation to a low-carbon economy is expected to require investment of at least USD 4–6 trillion per year and delivering such funding in turn requires a transformation of the financial system and its structures and processes, engaging governments, central banks, commercial banks, institutional investors and other financial actors.

 

43.  We call for collective global action to mobilise the necessary capital for both development and climate action, echoing the statement of the Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact that no country should ever have to choose between development aspirations and climate action. 

 

44.  Call for concrete time bound action on the proposals to reform the multilateral financial system currently under discussion specifically to: 

 

i.       build resilience to climate shocks, including better deployment of the SDR liquidity mechanism and disaster suspension clauses. We propose for consideration a new SDR issue for climate crisis response of at least the same magnitude as the Covid19 issue ($650b); 

 

ii.     better leveraging of the balance sheets of MDBs to scale up concessional finance to at least $500b per year; 

 

iii.    Measures to improve debt management, including:

a.    the inclusion of ‘debt pause clauses’, and 

b.    the proposed expert review of the Common Framework and the

Debt Sustainability Analysis

iv. New debt relief interventions and instruments to pre-empt debt default

– with the ability to 

a.    extend sovereign debt tenor, and 

b.    include a 10-year grace period 

v.       Decisive action on the Promotion of inclusive and effective international tax cooperation at the United Nations (Resolution A/C.2/77/L.11/REV.1)– with the aim to reduce Africa’s loss of $ 27 billion annual corporate tax revenue through profit shifting, by at least 50% by 2030 and 75% by 2050

vi.     Additional measures to crowd in and de-risk private capital, such as blended finance instruments, purchase commitments, partial foreign exchange (FX) guarantee industrial policy collaboration, which should be informed by the risks that drive lack of private capital deployment at scale;

vii.    Redesign of the MDB governance, to ensure a “fit for purpose” system with appropriate representation, voice, and agency of all countries

 

45.  Note that multilateral finance reform is necessary but not sufficient to provide the scale of climate financing the world needs to achieve 45 percent emission reduction by 2030 required to meet the Paris Agreement, without which keeping global warming to 1.5% will be in serious jeopardy.  Further note that the scale of financing required to unlock Africa’s climate-positive growth is beyond the borrowing capacity of national balance sheets, or at the risk premium that Africa is currently paying for private capital 

 

46.  Draw attention to the finding that inordinate borrowing costs, typically 5 to 8 times what wealthy countries pay (the “great financial divide”), are a root cause of recurring developing country debt crisis and an impediment to investment in development and climate action. We call for adoption of principles of responsible sovereign lending and accountability encompassing credit rating, risk analysis and debt sustainability assessment frameworks and urge the financial markets to commit to reduce this disparity by at least 50% i.e from 5%-8% to 2.5 – 4.0% by 2025.  

 

47.  Urge world leaders to rally behind the proposal for a global carbon taxation regime including a carbon tax on fossil fuel trade, maritime transport and aviation, that may also be augmented by a global financial transaction tax (FTT)) to provide dedicated, affordable, and accessible finance for climate-positive investments at scale, and ringfencing of these resources and decision-making from undue influence from geopolitical and national interests. 

 

48.  Propose to establish a new financing architecture that is responsive to Africa’s needs including debt restructuring and relief, including the development of a new Global Climate Finance Charter through UNGA and COP processes by 2025;

 

49.  That the first Global Stocktake, happening in 2023 at COP28 offers a pivotal opportunity to correct course by including a comprehensive outcome, both backward and forward looking". 

 

50.Decide  to establish the Africa Climate Summit as a biennial event convened by African Union and hosted by AU Member States, to set the continent’s new vision taking into consideration emerging global climate and development issues;

 

51.  Decide also that this Declaration will serve as a strong contribution from the African continent to the global climate change process, COP 28 and beyond;

 

52. Welcome the pledges made at the summit by United Arab Emirates (UAE) as COP28 President and other development partners to support Africa in particular for renewable energy and Adaptation

 

53. Appreciate the efforts of UAE as the COP28 President-Designate in the preparation of COP28, and affirm Africa’s full support for a successful and ambitious outcome of

COP28

 

54. Request African Union Commission to develop an implementation framework and roadmap for this Declaration and to make Climate Change an AU theme for the Year 2025 or 2026.

 

ADOPTED by African Heads of State and Government in the presence of global leaders and high-level representatives on 6 September 2023 in Nairobi Kenya.