Zukunftsorientierte Übergangs-Klimagerechtigkeit: Die Rolle der ECOWAS bei der Gewährleistung der regionalen Integration

The document proposes that ECOWAS integrate forward-looking transitional justice into its climate governance to prevent the marginalization of women and rural communities. It argues that climate change in West Africa is a crisis of social justice, where historical inequities determine vulnerability. The author suggests that ECOWAS should reduce its reliance on unstable global mechanisms, such as the COP27 Loss and Damage Fund, by establishing regional structures like a gender-responsive minerals strategy and a Regional Climate Adaptation Fund for Women. The paper emphasizes that a just transition must move beyond procedural formality to address the 'why' of structural harms, including land access and resource governance.

• Climate change in West Africa is characterized as a crisis of social justice where weather shocks interact with historical inequities, gendered divisions of labour, and unequal access to power, leaving women—who are primarily responsible for subsistence agriculture—systematically over-exposed to harms.
• The author proposes a 'forward-looking transitional justice' framework for ECOWAS that shifts the focus from post-conflict contexts to structural harms, emphasizing the transformation of socio-political relations and the prevention of recurring vulnerabilities.
• Global climate finance mechanisms are described as fragile, citing the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement and the Loss and Damage Fund's Board as evidence that reparative ambitions can be easily reversed.
• While ECOWAS has implemented gender-related initiatives, such as the Directive on Gender Assessment in Energy Projects and gender quotas in Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso, there is a lack of systematic documentation or evidence that these have effectively increased women's participation in decision-making.
• To ensure a just energy transition, the paper suggests ECOWAS strengthen benefit-sharing in the critical minerals sector through contractual obligations for mining companies to fund local infrastructure, women-led enterprises, and health or education initiatives.
• The document recommends the creation of a Regional Climate Adaptation Fund for Women, potentially utilizing the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), to finance women-led projects such as solar-powered irrigation and coastal protection.

APA

Mchunu, S. (2025). Zukunftsorientierte Übergangs-Klimagerechtigkeit: Die Rolle der ECOWAS bei der Gewährleistung der regionalen Integration. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/de/zukunftsorientierte-ubergangs-klimagerechtigkeit-die-rolle-der-ecowas-bei-der-gewaehrleistung-der-regionalen-integration-en

Chicago

Mchunu, Sphesihle. Zukunftsorientierte Übergangs-Klimagerechtigkeit: Die Rolle der ECOWAS bei der Gewährleistung der regionalen Integration. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2025. https://afripoli.org/de/zukunftsorientierte-ubergangs-klimagerechtigkeit-die-rolle-der-ecowas-bei-der-gewaehrleistung-der-regionalen-integration-en.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mchunu |first1=Sphesihle |title=Zukunftsorientierte Übergangs-Klimagerechtigkeit: Die Rolle der ECOWAS bei der Gewährleistung der regionalen Integration |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=28 November 2025 |url=https://afripoli.org/de/zukunftsorientierte-ubergangs-klimagerechtigkeit-die-rolle-der-ecowas-bei-der-gewaehrleistung-der-regionalen-integration-en |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mchunu2025zukunftsorientierte, author = {Mchunu, Sphesihle}, title = {{Zukunftsorientierte Übergangs-Klimagerechtigkeit: Die Rolle der ECOWAS bei der Gewährleistung der regionalen Integration}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://afripoli.org/de/zukunftsorientierte-ubergangs-klimagerechtigkeit-die-rolle-der-ecowas-bei-der-gewaehrleistung-der-regionalen-integration-en}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }