Onuigbo Urges Africa to Take Control of Its Climate Future
African countries have been urged to move from climate participation to management, by shaping the rules, institutions, agencies, finance, and implementation pathways that affect its future.
President of GLOBE Legislators, Sam Onuigbo, stated this at the 14th Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa, United Nations Conference Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He says Africa’s climate leadership must be built through African institutions and agencies, capital, and authority with fair international financial support, not control, of the continent’s development pathway.
“Implementation is now the real test of climate ambition; pledges must become laws, budgets, projects, accountable institutions/agencies, and measurable outcomes for African people.”
Onuigbo explained that the real test of climate ambition is not the quality of the pledge, but the quality of implementation.
“Success will not be measured only by declarations adopted, but by whether a farmer is better protected from drought and flooding, a community has reliable energy, a young African can build a green enterprise, women have access to finance and land, cities are resilient, industries can compete, and Africa’s natural resources create African value,” he said.
According to him, “Africa’s climate challenge is no longer only a question of vulnerability. It is now a question of agency. For decades, Africa has rightly insisted that the continent has contributed the least to historical greenhouse-gas emissions while suffering some of the most severe climate impacts. That argument remains valid and must continue to shape demands for climate justice, finance, technology transfer, adaptation support, and loss and damage.”
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He explained that no other continent holds a greater promise for the sustenance of life than Africa.
“I am glad that the theme of this Fourteenth Conference, “From Pledges to Implementation: The Belem–Antalya–Addis Roadmap,” speaks to a fundamental challenge facing Africa and the global climate regime and captures perhaps the most important transition in contemporary climate conversations: how do we move beyond commitments and negotiations to build the laws, institutions, financing mechanisms and practical solutions capable of delivering results?” He explained
He emphasised that Africa must shape the accreditation and disbursement rules of multilateral climate funds.
“Institutions such as the Green Climate Fund, the Adaptation Fund, and the Loss and Damage Fund should not treat African institutions merely as implementers of externally designed solutions,” he explained.
Mr Onuigbo further stressed that Africa must shape climate-related trade rules, including carbon-border measures.
“As major economies introduce climate-linked trade restrictions, African producers may face new competitiveness pressures. Africa must coordinate climate negotiators, trade ministries, and the AfCFTA Secretariat so that global climate rules do not become a new tariff wall against African industrialisation,” he noted.
Sir Onuigbo explained that Africa is vulnerable to climate change, but Africa is also valuable.
“It has the people, resources, institutions, markets, ecosystems, minerals, renewable-energy potential, and maritime geography needed to become a major contributor to global climate solutions. Climate agency means transforming those assets into resilience, prosperity, and strategic influence,” he added.
The 14th Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa, United Nations Conference Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, provides a timely platform to bridge global climate negotiations and implementation on the ground.
It will help translate the outcomes of SB64 into coordinated African priorities for COP31 while advancing practical solutions that accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement and the first Global Stocktake (GST1).
