Following the convening of the first physical African People’s Counter COP (APCC) in Saly, Senegal with the theme: “Africa United Against Systematic Oppression and Climate Change,” a coalition of Nigerian environmental organisations have joined the call to demand reparations for climate debt and economic reforms from Global North countries.
From October 7 to 10, the African Climate Justice Collective (ACJC) held the African People’s Counter COP (APCC). The counter COP took place ahead of 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29) in Baku, Azerbaijan in November.
Over 100 participants from social movements, grassroots communities, civil society organisations, academics, experts, workers, and others from 21 countries including, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mauritius, Mauritania, Madagascar, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo and Zimbabwe, took part.
In Nigeria, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) member groups and Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), have joined voices with their counterparts at the APCC to advocate a just transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources.
At a press briefing organised by GAIA and RDI in Lagos, activists emphasised the importance of climate reparations for African nations, arguing that they had been disproportionately harmed by the climate crisis despite contributing minimally to global carbon emissions.
Philip Jakpor, executive director of RDI, emphasised that reparations should not be in the form of loans, but rather grants, to avoid further economic pressure.
Project officer at Community Development Advocacy Foundation (CODAF), a member of GAIA, Melody Enyinnaya, said: “We call for reparations, remediation, and compensation for the impacted peoples of Africa,” while condemning false climate solutions like REDD+, Net Zero and geo-engineering.
Media consultant at CODAF, Elvira Jordan, said there should be an immediate halt to fossil fuel extraction across Africa, adding that these activities have degraded ecosystems, land and water resources.
Executive director of Pan African Vision for the Environment (PAVE) and GAIA member, Anthony Akpan, on his part, noted that Africa should not be used as a dumping ground for waste, urging the continent to adopt the Global Plastics Treaty to combat pollution across its lifecycle.
Philip Jakpor, executive director of the Renevlyn Development Initiative, emphasised that reparations should not be in the form of loans, but rather grants, to avoid further economic pressure.
The APCC recognises that African voices have largely been excluded from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties (UNFCCC COP) which has been captured by Global North states and corporations that continue to fuel the climate crises while falsely claiming to solve the causes of climate change.
The APCC is therefore a moment to denounce the COP whilst highlighting the impacts of climate change on African communities and showcasing viable alternative solutions that have emerged through knowledge sharing and activism from grassroots African communities, experts, activists and CSOs.
The APCC created a space where the voices of grassroots communities and activists were heard and lauded in contrast to the COP where these voices are marginalised.
They demanded climate justice for Global South communities at the centre of the climate crisis, while calling for an immediate end to fossil fuel extractions across Africa, climate debt, reparations and economic reforms among other demands.
PHOTO: APCC
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