African Countries At COP28 – Several Big Wins and a United Voice

By Bamidele Olajide

African countries entered the recent COP28 negotiations on climate change in high spirits. Before this conference, in September, African government leaders, policymakers, activists and other groups from the continent met at the African Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya. The African position and expectations for COP28 were shaped at this summit by the adoption of the Nairobi Declaration.

Africa’s main agenda at COP28, hosted by the United Arab Emirates, was to convince global players that they must show more altruism in financially supporting targets to reduce global emissions. For African countries, COP27, hosted by Egypt, was largely deemed a failure for the continent, and they hoped that COP28 would be more successful.

Africa is the region that has been most affected by climate change since 2010, even though the continent is one of the lowest greenhouse gas emitting regions in the world. More than half of the African population faces one or more impacts of climate change. These include drought, rising temperatures, land degradation, flooding, coastal erosion, desertification, and changes in rainfall patterns. This makes it especially important to analyse what gains Africa made at COP28 as a negotiating bloc.

From my perspective as a political scientist, whose field is environmental and energy politics, I believe that Africa gained much from taking a strong position in several negotiations at COP28.

Many gains

For instance, I view the COP28 Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action, which aims to reduce emissions and create food security for Africa, as a win.

Agriculture, forestry and other commercial or industrial uses of land are the most significant sources of emissions in Africa. The continent also faces a food security crisis that is worsened by climate change. This declaration shows new thinking in global climate governance, aiming to transform the global food system into a food-secure, yet decarbonised system. With 152 signatories and an early financial commitment of US$7.1 billion, there is potential for African agriculture and food systems to be boosted.

The COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health was also a milestone for Africa. Climate change increases the continent’s disease burden. The US$1 billion funding raised at COP28 for transforming health systems to cope with climate change induced illness and protect vulnerable populations will be very useful for Africa.