Background

The climate crisis is being turbocharged across the globe with the African people disproportionately experiencing the devastating impacts. Poverty and hunger are on the rise and millions of Africans are being forced to escape and migrate from their countries due to climate change. Midway through the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs) and 11 years since the launch of Africa’s development blueprint – Agenda 2063, 600 million Africans without access to energy while over 900 million Africans cannot cook without harmful fumes. Public services such as education and healthcare are chronically underfunded as unsustainable debt drives austerity. Climate induced disasters are increasing both the cost of borrowing and exacerbating the risk of debt crises as most countries have no option other than borrowing to deal with the recovery and reconstruction costs whenever disasters hit. Unsustainable debt levels that many countries face today also mean less fiscal space and to invest in adaptation and mitigation as well as address losses and damages already being experienced.

With the climate and development crises being supercharged by the very institutions and structures that created it, private sector centered, government bureaucrats led, and international financial institutions’ responses and policy recommendations as they stand today will not change the course for millions of Africans living in poverty. The same policies being proposed today and advanced in the Africa Climate Summit will continue to pillage African resources while concentrating power and wealth in the hands of the rich few. In this context, people powered organizing and people centered policy response is more urgent than ever to advance alternatives to the current climate and development trajectory.