AFRICA CLIMATE WEEKS 2023
The Africa Climate Summit and Africa Climate Week 2023, which took place in Nairobi, Kenya from September 4th to 8th, gathered leaders from across the continent to address the pressing issue of climate change and its effects on Africa.
One of the summit’s major achievements was the introduction of the African Adaptation Acceleration Framework (AAAF), a continent-wide initiative with the goal of enhancing Africa’s climate resilience by 2030. This framework focuses on four critical areas:
- Building Climate-Resilient Infrastructure: Developing robust infrastructure that can withstand climate-related challenges.
- Improving Agricultural Productivity: Enhancing agricultural practices to ensure food security in the face of changing climatic conditions.
- Protecting Natural Resources: Preserving and sustainably managing Africa's rich natural resources in the midst of environmental changes.
- Strengthening Climate Governance: Enhancing governance structures to effectively address climate issues.
Additionally, the summit marked the launch of the African Green Deal Readiness Fund (AGRF), a $500 million fund aimed at assisting countries in crafting and implementing their national climate plans.
Furthermore, several businesses and investors pledged to decarbonize their operations and invest in clean energy by 2050, aligning with global efforts to combat climate change. Civil society organizations emphasized the importance of climate justice and the rights of vulnerable groups, including women, children, and indigenous communities.
Leaders from across Africa collectively called for a significant increase in climate finance, aiming for at least $100 billion per year by 2025 to support climate initiatives on the continent.
- A side event on scaling up Resilience through the Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) Partnership, jointly organized by The UN Economic Commission for Africa, The World Bank, Nordic Development, and the African Union Commission (AUC).
- A side event on Capacity Building for Carbon Markets Governance Frameworks in Africa, hosted by The UN Economic Commission for Africa, The African Group of Climate Change Negotiators, and the African Union Commission (AUC).
- The launch of ClimDev-Africa Phase II, a collaborative effort by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Union Commission (AUC), and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
For ATPS, this session held special importance as we are recipients of funding from the Africa Development Bank for our project, ‘Building the Capacity of Selected sub-Sahara African Countries to Effectively Measure Progress in their Nationally Determined Contributions’
Implementation Using Tracking Tools and Indexes.’ In 2019, ATPS and our partners embarked on a pioneering journey, resulting in the development and pilot of an NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions) implementation monitoring, tracking tools, and index. This innovative approach allows us to assess NDC progress across five critical components, enabling policy decisions and fostering healthy competition among countries and regions to enhance compliance. Our ongoing project will leverage these valuable insights and tools to empower focal persons and champions in twelve selected sub-Saharan African countries to effectively measure their NDC implementation progress.