NAIROBI, Kenya—As the world warms up to COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, a group of African leaders wants President William Ruto to influence his other African colleagues to urge decisive action from world leaders to end fossil fuels.
The 29th Conference of the Parties, better known as COP29, will occur from November 11 to November 22, 2024. Azerbaijan has been selected to preside over this critical climate change conference.
The experts, led by Prince Papa, an African campaigner with the Fossil Fuels Nonproliferation Treaty, said they look forward to Kenya becoming the first African nation to endorse it.
“We are calling upon President Ruto to take this first step and use his strong position on climate change to influence other African countries to come to the table,” said Prince Papa during a Fossil fuels non-proliferation treaty initiative event in Nairobi.
Why Africa must not be left behind
Prince Papa observed that the world is scrambling and partitioning the environment, and Africa must not be left behind.
“Africa must be on the table when the presidents will be discussing the terms of reference for this Treaty,” he said.
Isaac Waindu, a Climate Finance Expert, observed high expectations for the forthcoming COP29.
“We expect that we are going to finalise the new quantified code on climate finance, and we are going to premise this based on grants and also the needs of the Africans so that we can realise the 100 billion per year called climate finance,” Waindu explained.
Waindu, who works on policy issues and policy interventions related to climate finance to enhance access for local communities and the entire African continent, serving climate justice, said the discussion should not be left to the global level.
“We are still looking at the local level as solutions to the climate finance needs that we are currently trying to implement through domestication of different laws and legislations in all the 47 counties in Kenya,” Waindu said.
How Africa is steadily waking up
According to Waindu, the geopolitics of climate change at the global level will continue to be discussed.
“We have seen Africa waking up through capacity-building sessions to ensure that they are sensitised and trying to demand their rights regarding climate justice. And so, within this time, we have seen a lot of progress and developments around climate policy,” Waindu explained.
Waindu said that one of the Paris Agreement’s policies will be domesticated in the form of National Determined Contributions (NDCs).
“We have seen our country, Kenya, revising the Second Generation of the NDCs. We are still asking whether we will demystify the discussions around climate finance, access the resources, and leave it to the coffers of the global geopolitics being played around. This is because our people are suffering, and we are witnessing the devastating effects of climate change in different parts of the country,” said Waindu.
Meanwhile, Prince Papa reiterated that the African countries’ demands for COP29 in Baku are apparent.
“Climate finance plays a greater role in climate mitigation and adaptation, but for us, it is mostly for reparation for the historical injustices that we have had coming from the overflows of the fossil fuels of the developed world.” “And this must be clear that we are not going there for the climate finance to come in terms of loans.”
Why Africa must demand more at COP29
According to Prince Papa, the African continent must demand that historical injustices be paid in full and that the developed world—countries like the US, Canada, and Norway, among others—stop using fossil fuels.
“We are tired of rampant droughts, floods and loss of livelihoods and are not looking at investing more finance to invest in fossil fuels. Research has shown that Africa has the highest potential for renewable energy compared to any continent in the world, and this is where we need these finances to go,” explained the expert.
He indicated that these countries, the biggest emitters, must pay for these lost assets for the people, including the lost livelihoods.
“Just energy for Africa must be financed by the West because they have developed from taking resources from Africa and using them to develop their world at the expense that we will meet or feel the brunt of climate change. Lastly, we hope that many African countries will heed the call for a fossil fuels nonproliferation treaty,” Papa Prince added.
What counties are doing to fight climate change
Speaking at the same time, Marsabit County First Lady of Marsabit, who chairs the County First Lady’s Association Alamitu Jattani, which is an organisation of spouses of Kenyan governors, including the men, despite the name, said the body was at the forefront in championing climate change.
“We are planting many trees in our respective counties and nurturing them to ensure they reach maturity. So, we plant more trees during our mentorship programs in schools and communities,” said Alamitu.
Alamitu observed that the other major issue is deforestation, especially where she comes from in Marsabit, where most forests are diminishing.
“So, we have partnered with various organisations and county governments where women who normally go to the forests to cut trees for their livelihoods in charcoal and domestic use have been urged to embrace clean energy cooking techniques,” said the First Lady.
