African Countries Push for Climate Justice As COP26 Begins

Africa’s agricultural-based economies are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. (Creative Commons)

The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), beginning on October 31, offers an opportunity for several world leaders, diplomatic teams, and the countries that they represent to form collective agreements in the increasingly urgent fight against global warming. The heads of state of several African countries—including the leaders of Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, and more than a dozen others—are present at the conference. Together, they have collectively formed the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) to advocate for the interests of African countries at COP26.

Despite only being  responsible for four percent of global emissions, the African continent stands among the areas of the world most affected by climate change. Several regions of Africa have experienced rises in temperature and sea level at rates far quicker than the global average. Africa’s agricultural-based economies are uniquely vulnerable to such climate shifts, spelling dire consequences for Africa’s food security, water resources, and human displacement. 

The frequency of droughts and natural disasters in the region has resulted in declining agricultural productivity and increased costs of countermeasures, adding up to between three and nine percent of the continent’s annual GDP. 

Many African leaders argue that developed countries—who are mainly responsible for the carbon footprint causing the current climate crisis—are now pushing the burden of climate change onto the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries. In a July 2021 statement, Africa’s Group of Negotiators echoed, “Africa contributes the least emissions but suffers the brunt of the consequences.”

At COP15 in 2009, all industrialized countries pledged to collectively donate $100 billion per year to fight climate change in developing countries; this was reaffirmed at COP21 in 2015 and in the Paris Agreement. These funds, however, have not begun to be appropriated—a key sticking-point for Africa’s negotiators at COP26. In response, Africa’s delegates have adopted a statement in advance of COP26 in which they acknowledged this “promise has not materialized.” They further deemed the unfulfilled pledge “grossly inadequate,” given the escalating costs of climate change. 

At COP26, Africa’s negotiators hope to push for greater funding for climate mitigation in Africa, demanding that 50 percent of available climate funds be directed to Africa.