African civil society organizations have warned they will reject any climate agreement that forces the continent to bear costs for a crisis it did not create, as negotiations at the United Nations (UN) climate summit in Belém enter their final days.
The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), representing non state actors across Africa, released a comprehensive position statement on November 20 demanding wealthy nations deliver on finance pledges while protecting African economies from punitive carbon taxes and rushed fossil fuel phaseouts.
The coalition stated that Africa must not pay three times for climate change, first through direct environmental impacts, second through inadequate or unfair global responses, and third through continued exploitation of the continent’s critical minerals and forest resources to advance what it termed an alien transition agenda.
COP30 (Conference of the Parties 30), taking place from November 10 to 21 in Belém, Brazil, marks the largest climate gathering this year. Dr Mithika Mwenda, PACJA Executive Director, spoke at Africa Day on November 11, stating that non state actors turn climate commitments into real action on the ground.
The alliance issued seven core demands ahead of the summit’s conclusion. These include explicit recognition of Africa’s special needs and circumstances across all final decisions, flexibility for African countries in applying global rules and reporting requirements, and priority access to finance, technology and capacity building.
On climate finance, PACJA called for a legally mandated two year Belém Work Programme for Delivering Article 9 of the Paris Agreement. The organization wants developed countries to provide predictable public finance, primarily grants and concessional lending, with binding workplans and annual reporting.
The coalition proposed establishing four workstreams tailored to African needs, including clear targets for public finance and adaptation shares, protection of the separation between obligatory public finance and non obligatory private mobilisation, translation of global financial goals into actual country level flows, and measures to reduce cost of capital while expanding direct access.
PACJA recommended an annual High Level Ministerial Dialogue to maintain political pressure and spotlight delivery gaps, along with a Belém Facility for Access and Implementation to strengthen national institutions and project pipelines.
Negotiators at COP29 in Baku agreed to work toward scaling up financing to at least 1.3 trillion US dollars per year by 2035, known as the Baku to Belém Roadmap. However, African groups argue this falls short without clear implementation mechanisms.
On response measures, the alliance warned that several proposals at COP30 threaten to dilute accountability and delay adoption of the 2026 to 2030 workplan. Without a strong system, African economies will be exposed to negative socioeconomic impacts from global climate actions such as Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAM), rapid phaseout rules, or shifting industrial standards.
The statement demands maintaining the Katowice Committee of Experts on the Impacts of the Implementation of Response Measures as a technical body, with political authority staying with the Forum. It calls for prioritizing assessment and dialogue on unilateral trade measures including CBAM and their impacts on African economies.
Regarding fossil fuels and energy access, PACJA demanded a fair, sequenced or differentiated, and well financed phaseout roadmap aligned with Africa’s development needs. The coalition asserted that just transition must be defined not as a transition away from fossil fuels but as a transition into prosperity, anchored in equity, energy access, and economic opportunity.
The organization called for recognition of Africa’s right to transitional energy solutions, including time bound, Paris Agreement aligned natural gas use. It wants a stronger Just Transition Work Programme supporting skills, jobs, industrial policy, and diversification, with guaranteed linkages between transition finance and priorities such as critical minerals, manufacturing, and green industrialization.
PACJA expressed alarm at limited progress on implementing the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), with Mwenda stating on November 17 that unfair game characterizes negotiations on financing implementation.
On adaptation and loss and damage, the coalition demands more than triple adaptation finance by 2030 with a clear public finance pathway. It calls for a fully capitalized Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage with new, additional, predictable finance mobilized from public sources, along with fast track support for resilient agriculture, water and health systems.
PACJA emphasized that gender equality is central to effective climate action, not an add on. The renewed Gender Action Plan must be practical, resourced, and measurable, with strong means of implementation mainstreamed across all UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) agenda items.
The statement demands adequate, predictable, accessible gender finance including direct access for African women led and feminist groups. It calls for mandatory gender integration across mitigation, adaptation, finance, loss and damage, and technology with clear indicators, along with accountability and monitoring of gender commitments and resource allocation.
Africa previously held two climate summits, the first in Kenya in 2023 and the second in Ethiopia in September 2025, where African leaders declared the continent will not be defined by what it lacks but by the solutions it provides.
The position statement consolidates perspectives from more than 10,000 representatives from diverse sectors and communities gathered through year long consultations led by PACJA and its sectoral partners in collaboration with pan African institutions.
PACJA warned that Africa needs a COP30 outcome matching ambition with delivery. The organization stated that ambition in Africa’s context means funding, not superficial rhetoric, and anything less would represent a failure of leadership and betrayal of the world’s most climate vulnerable region.
UN Secretary General António Guterres told world leaders at COP30 that the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit is a red line for humanity that must be kept within reach.
The coalition called for a final package including a strong Article 9 decision rooted in the Belém Work Programme, scaled predictable adaptation and loss and damage finance, a robust Response Measures workplan protecting African economies, a fair equitable transition roadmap supporting energy access and industrialization, and full operationalization of Africa’s special needs and circumstances.
The Standard newspaper reported that African civil society groups warn they will reject any COP30 deal that forces the continent to pay for a crisis it did not create, reflecting the urgency behind PACJA’s position as negotiations approach their scheduled conclusion on November 21.
Source: newsghana.com.gh
