Barka Sajou, Executive Director of Technical Services at Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency, shares his thoughts on the African Climate Summit and the financial path to realising sustainable development.

The African Climate Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya, on 4-6 September, brought together African leaders and energy experts in a bid to discuss how the continent could collectively deal with climate change.

Attending the event virtually has made me see that for countries in East Africa, the conversation around climate change is not only strategic but also critical. The recent droughts and changes in weather conditions have made it necessary for African states to unite and discuss both mitigation and adaptation measures with respect to climate change.

The Summit, organised around seven central themes encompassing funds for adaptation, clean energy promotion, sustainable mineral resource management, climate finance reform, carbon market development, youth engagement, and the transition to green energy systems, garnered widespread optimism among diverse African stakeholders.

This optimism was further fueled by the summit’s timing, occurring just ahead of COP28, slated for November and December in Dubai. Given the imperative to present a unified African stance at COP28, thus avoiding fragmentation, the leadership of Kenya’s President, William Ruto, was instrumental in galvanising African leaders to approach the global event with a cohesive voice.

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The three pillars of the African Climate Summit

As anticipated, the resolutions emanating from the summit revolved around three core pillars: Africa’s debt restructuring, global decarbonisation, and sustainable investments.

A paramount concern addressed at the summit was the pressing need for a new financing mechanism aimed at restructuring the debt of African countries. This mechanism was considered vital to relieve the financial burdens of African nations, allowing them to allocate resources effectively towards climate adaptation efforts.

The summit also underlined the global imperative of decarbonising the economy. Leaders underscored the urgent need for concerted international efforts to reduce carbon emissions and expedite the transition to sustainable energy systems.

Additionally, investments that align with the sustainable utilisation of Africa’s abundant assets were emphasised numerous times during the three-day event. These investments are to strike a delicate balance between economic development and environmental preservation.

The summit also tabled the necessity for reforms in critical climate change agreements, including the Bridgetown Initiative, the Accra-Marrakech Agenda, the UN Secretary General’s SDG Stimulus Proposal, and the Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact. These calls for reform underscore the urgency African leaders feel of aligning global commitments with the evolving climate landscape.

Arguably, the summit’s most significant outcome was the collective commitment to develop a new Global Climate Finance Charter. This commitment, slated to materialise through the United Nations General Assembly and the COP processes by 2025, stands as a landmark achievement. Embodied within the Nairobi Declaration, this charter reflects the unified position of African countries as they prepare to engage with COP28.

It symbolises the continent’s unity, determination and dedication to advancing the global climate agenda, offering a beacon of hope for a greener and more resilient future, not only for Africa but for the entire global community.

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How much financing will be needed?

Being a leader in the energy space has made me appreciate the importance of gatherings like the African Climate Summit. At the same time, however, it is also important to pinpoint the issues that might present themselves as a stumbling block even if the Nairobi Declaration were to be fully implemented today.

One of the biggest dilemmas for African countries when it comes to climate-based projects is the lack of project readiness and availability. Though African leaders are demanding a new financing mechanism, the truth is that when that financing mechanism comes, it will be met with a lot of unpreparedness in terms of projects to implement and execute.

This gap is where another type of finance is needed.

Creating projects is not an easy task and sometimes takes longer than expected due to the limited resources and knowledge about certain African communities. For this reason, it becomes important that philanthropic finance, or its equivalent, closes the gap between potential funds received and projects available.

One might even wonder, if the projects are not ready, how can African leaders even know how much to ask for? The answer to this question comes from understanding the focus of the African leaders when it comes to the financing mechanism.

The core focus is debt restructuring, where foreign nations either forgive or reduce the debt load that African countries own, all in a bid to help these countries use that extra money for climate-based projects. Though on paper, it looks like a good ask, the truth is that such funds might never reach their intended target.

Summarily then, though the African Climate Summit allows me to be optimistic about the future of sustainable development in the continent, it would be naive to forget the context or even the path-dependent challenges that have caused the nations to be in this situation in the first place. At COP28, the real impact of the Nairobi Declaration will be tested. ESI

Barka Sajou specialises in accelerating energy access solutions in agriculture, education, healthcare and livelihood to make development goals achievable for over 80 million rural households and businesses in Nigeria.