1. 🚁 Heli view: Africa has at last engaged in the battle of ideas

Departing from Dubai, one thing at least is clear: Climate action is driven by funding — but no money flows without the right narrative.  

• For decades, Africa was mostly a bystander in the global battle of ideas. That has changed. 

A momentous year: 2023 will be remembered as the time when the continent started owning its climate narrative. 

• Much practical work remains to be done. But this COP was remarkably different from the last, even if still far from satisfactory. 

• How? For the first time, Africa worked to a powerful agenda.  

Paradigm shift: The agenda got significant traction in Dubai. Several debates went Africa's way.

• We document individual instances below, including masses of new funding.

• Forbes magazine wrote: “Africa takes charge of its narrative.”

The right backup: An impressive group of African business leaders (eg James Mwangi of Equity Bank) accompanied the continent's statesmen to Dubai.  

• The bosses showed that African climate partners can be found in the private sector. 

Reality check: Nonetheless, global climate narratives have yet to embrace Africa more broadly as a solution to problems in the northern hemisphere. 

• High-profile debates (eg on fossil fuel) left the continent mostly on the sidelines.

• Africa must work even harder to sit centre stage and capture the world’s imagination.

In sum: The past two weeks were a reasonable start into a new era. 

• Even if most pledges made in Dubai may not result in meaningful emission cuts.

2. How did the continent score at COP in individual categories?

Two weeks ago, we published a bingo card listing the nine parts of Africa’s climate agenda. They had been agreed by national leaders at the Africa Climate Summit and set out in the Nairobi Declaration published on September 6th. 

How much of this has been achieved at COP28? What wins did African negotiators achieve? 

1. Energy: A beacon of progress (8/10)

Energy transition took centre stage at COP28 with lots of announcements: 

• Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative: €20 billion promised for Team Europe to increase access to green energy in Africa. 

• Masdar signed for 10 GW in projects in Angola, Uganda, the Republic of Congo, Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia.

• EAIF committed €11.5 million to West Africa’s first solar and battery energy storage system project.

2. Fossil fuel challenges (2/10)

African nations resisted a phaseout due to economic realities. Scepticism surrounds pledges made at COP28, laying bare the balance between economic growth and environmental commitments. The African Energy Chamber (AEC) strongly urged African countries to reject any and all anti-fossil fuel policies. 

3. Climate finance: A mixed bag (4/10)

While climate finance is finally on the table, the African Group of Negotiators expressed dissatisfaction with adaptation finance talks. On the final day, they insisted on their request for a Global Goal Adaptation framework.

• Meanwhile, the $700 million pledged to the loss and damage fund at COP28 cover less than 0.2% of the required amount, raising concerns about the adequacy of these financial commitments.

4. Nature and biodiversity: A call for implementation (6/10)

COP28 saw commitments of $1.7 billion for biodiversity by 2025, marking progress especially for Ghana, DRC and Congo. However, the key challenge lies in implementation. Stewards on the ground are needed to ensure tangible actions.

• According to James Lloyd from N4C, “We need to direct these investments in regenerative systems. The key will be how these words turn into action, how we cover the last 50 miles.”

5. Regulations: The unanswered question (1/10)

Progress on new climate regulations remains unclear. Absence in the narrative raises questions about the comprehensiveness of the climate agenda. 

6. Industrialisation: A green initiative (6/10)

The Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative (AGII) took shape at COP28. Developing countries seek the right balance between climate action and economic development.

• Kenya announced $4 billion worth of projects.

• Key is bringing industrial processing back to the continent. 

7. Cooperation: Building (small) bridges (5/10)

Several initiatives aiming to join up nations are taking shape, but remain small given the scale of the continent:

• LEAP Africa and Dow united over 10,000 volunteers across 28 African countries to achieve SDGs.

• A leadership platform to accelerate climate adaptation in Africa has been launched at COP. 

8. Agriculture: Finally pushed forward (6/10)

A declaration on smallholders set the tone, while AfDB's $1 billion insurance facility for farmers adds an extra layer of security. And the World Bank unveiled $100 million for climate-smart agriculture in Africa.

• Rwanda, Sierra Leone and others launched a coalition to transform food and land use systems.

• The Rwandan Agriculture minister going off-script put food systems at the centre of the global stocktake. 

9. Infrastructure:  (5/10) 

Though still small, infrastructure gained momentum with pledges for $175 million to the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa, showcasing a commitment to sustainable development at the level of the continent. Also: 

• USAID committed $53 million for climate resilience in cities Across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

• Africa Finance Corporation: $350 million long-term line of credit for infrastructure signed with the African Development Bank.

3. The curious case of Kenya and climate

Who would have thought at last year’s COP in Egypt that an East African nation with little more than 50 million people would emerge as the continent’s green powerhouse? 

The new normal: Not a week passed this year without Kenya making news on climate. 

• President William Ruto displayed missionary green zeal on the international stage.

• One observer wrote: “Kenya positions itself as Africa’s climate champion.”

• Yet the president’s popularity at home is not what it was last year (to put it mildly).

Good COP: President Ruto and his advisers made their presence felt at COP28 in Dubai. Here are some of the little noticed but impactful roles played by Team Nairobi. 

1. Kenya signed up, along with other countries such as the US and Canada, to commitments for reducing cooling-related emissions (by 68% in 2050).

2. Kenya joined a group of countries calling itself BOGA (Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance) that want to phase out fossil fuel use. 

3. Kenya, along with France and Columbia, commissioned an “expert review” of debt, nature and climate, to provide policy recommendations to protect nature while addressing finances. 

4. Kenya, along with Brazil, Belgium, Nepal, Pakistan and South Africa, gathered top judges in Dubai to chart a path for climate-related litigation and climate enforcement actions.

Bottom line: Africa will benefit from having an eager and eloquent green czar. 

• But Kenya needs to be careful to bring along its people and the rest of the AU or risk losing unity and effectiveness.

4. Q&A: Climate leaders with answers

Lucy Kagendo Mbae is the African co-convener of the climate working group at Global Green, a worldwide umbrella body for green political parties.

Q: What country in Africa should outsiders visit to learn about its climate? A: We are trying as Kenya. Obviously, we have not done all that needs to be done, however, we have the policies in place. The only thing is implementation. 

Q: What’s the most recent thing you have done personally for climate action? A: I have been taking part in a tree-planting exercise organised for schools in solidarity with the children of Ukraine. We planted 571 trees, marking the number of days since the war began.

Q: What is your earliest conscious memory of the climate crisis in Africa? A: As a young girl in Meru county, one would be certain that by early October, the rainy season starts. Now, there is no certainty of the seasons anymore. Now you don’t know when to prepare the land for planting. 

5. Media monitoring

• New tool: Burn sold the first carbon credit futures for cookstoves in Africa on the CYNK platform, opening the door for more.

• For sale: Two Nigerian national parks will enter the global carbon markets in an attempt to fund conservation. 

• New reserves: Discovery of gas in Zimbabwe could create new economic opportunities – and friction with climate goals.

• Tenant farmers: More swathes of African wilderness and rainforests are signed up in carbon credit deals.

• Warning: Africa could lose $25 billion per year if a new EU carbon tax comes into effect, says the AfDB.

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Thanks to the Green Rising team for putting this together.