Are Africa’s priorities and vision being heard at COP?

The document analyzes Africa's role and priorities within the UNFCCC COP process, specifically focusing on the transition from COP27 to COP28 and looking ahead to COP29. It highlights the continent's success in establishing the Loss and Damage Fund and launching voluntary initiatives like the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative, while warning that climate finance remains severely constrained and dominated by loans rather than grants. The brief argues that Africa must shift from a reactive to a proactive approach, integrating gender perspectives and climate-peace-security policies, while balancing the need for energy access with a just transition to low-carbon energy.

• Africa played a pivotal role in securing the Loss and Damage Fund decision at COP27 and maintaining its momentum through COP28, though the fund's foundations remain unstable due to a lack of firm disbursement targets and unclear governance.
• Several voluntary agreements are advancing Africa's climate goals: the African Cities Water Adaptation Fund aims to implement resilient water solutions in 100 cities by 2032 with US$222 million in grants and US$288 million in direct investments; the Africa Climate Risk Insurance Facility intends to deliver US$14 billion by 2030; and the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative targets 300 million carbon credits per year by 2030.
• Climate finance for Africa is insufficient and poorly structured, with the Climate Policy Initiative estimating an annual requirement of US$277 billion to meet 2030 goals. Furthermore, public finance in Africa is predominantly provided as loans rather than grants, increasing the burden on countries with high debt distress.
• The Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) framework agreed upon at COP28 is considered inadequate because it lacks measurable indicators to track progress and fails to create a meaningful link between implementation and the necessary support.
• Africa faces a significant energy gap, with 600 million people lacking electricity and 970 million lacking clean cooking as of 2022. While the Nairobi Declaration aims to increase renewable capacity from 56 GW to 300 GW by 2030, an additional US$2 trillion in investment is needed for infrastructure and technology.
• African engagement in the Global Stocktake process at COP28 was sub-optimal and primarily process-related rather than substantive, which the document attributes to a lack of human capacity.

APA

Naidoo, D., & Mkumbeni, K. (2024). Are Africa’s priorities and vision being heard at COP? Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1731506890387-pb-193.pdf

Chicago

Naidoo, Dhesigen, and Kgaugelo Mkumbeni. Are Africa’s priorities and vision being heard at COP? Institute for Security Studies, 2024. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1731506890387-pb-193.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Naidoo |first1=Dhesigen |last2=Mkumbeni |first2=Kgaugelo |title=Are Africa’s priorities and vision being heard at COP? |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=2024 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1731506890387-pb-193.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naidoo2024are, author = {Naidoo, Dhesigen and Mkumbeni, Kgaugelo}, title = {{Are Africa’s priorities and vision being heard at COP?}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2024}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1731506890387-pb-193.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }