“No Climate Justice Without Social Justice”
TrustAfrica, an African foundation rooted in the struggle for a just, inclusive, and equitable world, joins African movements, governments, and civil society actors in reflecting on the outcomes of the Second Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa, held under the theme ‘Accelerating Global Climate Solutions: Financing Africa’s resilient and Green Development.‘ The Summit underscored both the urgency and the opportunity of climate action in Africa, but also the enduring risks of a climate agenda that prioritizes profit over people.
We stand firmly with the calls from rural women, pastoralists, environmentalists, movements and indeed African people for:
- Just Transitions that protect smallholder farmers, women, youth, workers, communities, and future generations—not false solutions that deepen inequality.
- Gender Justice at the heart of climate policies, recognizing women as leaders, not victims, in climate resilience
- Climate Reparations and accountability from the Global North, whose historic emissions drive Africa’s disproportionate vulnerability.
- Sovereignty over Africa’s resources—especially critical minerals—ensuring that governance frameworks prevent exploitation and prioritize community benefit.
- Adaptation Finance and Locally-Led Adaptation, ensuring funds reach communities directly rather than being lost in layers of bureaucracy.
- Transparent Public Finance and African Philanthropy, mobilized to serve climate justice rather than debt traps or extractive investments.
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Africa’s Consensus Heading into COP30
COP30 in Belém, Brazil, has been called the “Implementation COP” — a critical moment to:
- Track delivery on past commitments from the Paris Agreement through COP28 and COP29.
- Agree on implementation modalities for existing declarations and pledges.
- Close the gap on adaptation finance and loss & damage.
However, there are growing concerns that COP30 may not deliver a new collective quantifiable climate finance goal (NCQG), despite the urgent financing gap facing developing countries. For Africa, this would risk leaving our communities in crisis while promises remain unfulfilled.
TrustAfrica’s Recommendations for COP30
To ensure COP30 delivers for Africa, TrustAfrica calls for:
1. A Narrative on Climate Finance that Drives Action
- Recognize the financing gap between pledges and actual disbursements.
- Demand predictable, accessible, and new finance, not reallocated ODA or loans that worsen debt burdens.
- Ensure that implementation COP means implementation for people and communities, not just for paper pledges.
2. No Retreat from a New Collective Quantifiable Goal (NCQG)
- Even if consensus is difficult, Africa must hold firm on a just and ambitious NCQG that reflects real adaptation costs and equity.
- Financing must address loss and damage, gender-just transitions, and food sovereignty.
3. Just Transitions Anchored in Equity
- Climate action must support smallholder farmers, workers, women, youth,
- Reject extractive “green deals” that replicate colonial exploitation of Africa’s critical minerals.
4. Reclaiming Sovereignty & Local Agency
- Locally-led adaptation must be scaled up with direct access to finance for African communities and grassroots movements.
- Africa must speak with one strong, unified voice on sovereignty over resources, just energy transitions, and adaptation finance.
5. Strengthening Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – Ensure Africa’s
NDCs are ambitious, gender-responsive, and backed with clear implementation pathways and financing. Global partners must provide adequate support for adaptation, mitigation, and just transition measures embedded in NDCs.
Our Call to Negotiators at COP30
As Africa steps into COP30, TrustAfrica urges negotiators to:
- Ensure climate finance commitments are implemented, not postponed.
- Push for ambition, equity, and reparative justice in tracking past agreements.
- Defend Africa’s right to development and sovereignty while advancing climate justice.
- Prioritize loss and damage, adaptation, and food sovereignty in implementation pathways.
Africa cannot afford another cycle of unkept promises. COP30 must be the moment where commitments are translated into action for the people most affected by the climate crisis.
TrustAfrica – Rooted in Justice, Committed to Africa’s Future