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…calls for stronger African control of global climate finance
From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
Former lawmaker and sponsor of Nigeria’s Climate Change Act 2021, Sam Onuigbo, has urged African countries to build strong climate institutions capable of sustaining action beyond speeches, conferences and changes in government.
Onuigbo made the call at the 14th Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-XIV), holding at the UN Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The conference, which runs from September 7 to 9, is themed, “From Pledges to Implementation: The Belém–Antalya–Addis Roadmap.”
He said climate action must be backed by legislation, long-term planning, dedicated budgets and strong institutional oversight to ensure continuity across political administrations.
Onuigbo also urged African countries to shift from reactive disaster management to anticipatory climate-risk management through flood mapping, early-warning systems, improved drainage, dam safety, wetlands protection, proper land-use planning and resilient infrastructure.
According to him, adaptation should no longer be measured by the number of projects announced, but by how effectively such interventions reduce vulnerability, deaths and economic losses.
He stressed that Africa’s climate leadership must extend beyond COP negotiations to national and regional parliaments, ministries, development banks, universities, technical agencies, civil society, private investors and local governments.
The former lawmaker identified five key areas where Africa must assert greater influence in global climate governance.
He called for stronger African participation in determining the accreditation and disbursement rules of multilateral climate funds, including the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund and Loss and Damage Fund.
Onuigbo said capable African development banks, national climate funds and regional institutions should have greater direct access to resources meant to tackle the continent’s climate challenges.
He also demanded fairer climate finance, arguing that attention must shift from headline pledges to whether funding comes as grants or loans, the cost of capital and who controls access to the funds.
He warned that climate finance that deepens Africa’s debt burden or leaves countries dependent on external intermediaries cannot deliver climate justice.
On carbon markets, Onuigbo urged African countries to play a stronger role in shaping rules under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, ensuring carbon finance supports industrialisation, land restoration, community development and environmental integrity.
He further called for closer coordination between Africa’s climate and trade policies to tackle emerging climate-linked trade measures, including carbon-border mechanisms.
He warned that without strategic coordination among climate negotiators, trade ministries and the AfCFTA Secretariat, global climate rules could become new barriers to African exports.
