Category: African Climate Policy

The launch of Mission 300 was heralded as a game-changer in regional efforts to enhance energy access in Africa. The initiative includes support for LNG projects as a transition fuel, which has raised concerns by civil society who are looking to see cleaner and more sustainable sources of energy in its stead. There are also questions around the concesionality of the finance provided and the extent country ownership over energy generation facilities.

The African Group of Negotiators calls the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement a direct threat to global climate efforts, leaving vulnerable nations without critical financial and technical support.

Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and suspension of USAID funding mark a drastic shift in U.S. global policy. The crisis exposes aid dependency, prompting calls for self-sufficiency, yet leaving vulnerable populations, particularly in Africa, facing immediate hardship with multiple climate programmes and projects now at risk.

Some African countries are criminalising the use of native “uncertified” seeds, which many believe are more resilient to climate change. Governments believe certified seeds boost productivity, but rights groups claim they undermine traditional food systems while protecting industrial plant breeders’ rights. Youth groups are seeking to turn the tide by pushing governments to include food sovereignty, security and agroecology issues within national policies.

In the wake of an extreme dry spell exacerbated by climate change, Zambia’s President Hichilema declared the drought a national disaster earlier this year. But is the country’s disaster management framework sufficiently robust, and is funding freed up by the hard-won debt-relief programme getting to the activities it needs to?

In response to the global push to shore up green technology developments, African countries are increasingly looking to localise benefits from green minerals. But they face higher tariffs on processed green minerals and products made from them. A more open discussion on how the global trade environment facilitates African green mineral beneficiation is needed at this year’s COP.

Loss and damage discussions have continuously pointed to the need for insurance to fill the gap. Water insurance is becoming an increasingly popular mechanism in Africa, but does it have the enabling environment and financial backing to operate at scale?