Activists demand reform concurrent with Africa climate summit

An activist of African Friends of the Earth demanded a reform of the entire system. There is some frustration on the continent when they are asked to develop in a cleaner way than the world's biggest polluters and do so, although much of the promised support has not appeared.

One target was the coal market. This land has been invested over the years. The UN defines them as trading systems where carbon emissions are sold and bought. Companies or individuals can use the carbon market to offset their greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing carbon emissions from communities that eliminate or reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

We are here to demand that Africa's energy system must be dismantled, it must be taken out of the hands of the guilty, it is time for Africans to stand together and demand that we need systems now. Change, not climate change, we need now that the African energy system is coming to a standstill, said activist Babawale, Friends of Africa.

It should be put in the hands of the people, now is not the time to promote a carbon market because it will not end another climate crisis in Africa.

Some held signs calling for targeting fossil fuels. End the neo-colonial scramble for oil and gas in Africa, read one placard. Kenyan President William Ruto has previously said that addiction to fossil fuels must end.

Loss and damage

Africa's first climate summit is underway, with heads of states and others raising their voices on a global issue that most affects the continent of 1.3 billion people, even though they contribute to the climate change the least.

Ruto's government and the African Union began a ministerial meeting on Monday as more than a dozen heads of states began arriving, determined to exert more global influence and bring in much more money and support. The first speakers were young people who demanded a greater voice in the process.

We have considered this a problem for a long time. There are also huge opportunities, Ruto said of the climate crisis, speaking of multi-billion dollar economic opportunities, new financial structures, Africa's vast mineral reserves and the ideal of shared prosperity.

Simon Stiell, secretary-general of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said that we need to see now $100 billion in climate change funding that rich countries pledge to developing countries every year. In 2020, more than US$83 billion in climate finance was made available to the poorest countries, an increase of four percent from the previous year, but still below the 2009 target.

The president said Kenya alone needs $62 billion to implement its plan to reduce national emissions that contribute to global warming.

Absent from the summit are US climate envoy John Kerry and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who said he views the funding as one of the burning injustices of the climate crisis.