Story by Memory Chamisa
ZIMBABWE is set to participate at the second edition of the Africa Climate Week and Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with a major focus on climate financing.
From September 1 to September 10, focus will be on Africa as climate leaders, development partners and Heads of State meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the second Africa Climate Summit hosted by the African Union.
The Summit is a critical moment to drive African leadership and action on the road to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) set for Brazil in November.
“Africa is at the frontline of climate impacts and a potential powerhouse of climate solutions. CW2 is the last formal UNFCCC convening outside of Brazil ahead of COP30, focusing on technical negotiation issues and implementation. The Africa Climate Summit is a key political opportunity for African leaders to agree on a unified African voice that decisively shapes the COP30 outcomes. Both events must build momentum to carry through to UNGA, Pre-COP, COP30, and G20 moments later this year, ensuring African priorities and needs are recognised and understood. COP30 can be the turning point the world needs to rebuild trust between North and South as it accelerates action,” Chief Director-Climate Change in the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife Mr Washington Zhakata stated.
Ethiopian Ambassador to Zimbabwe His Excellency Rashid Mohammed Abdulwahid highlighted the significance of the summit in positioning Africa as a global climate leader and a solution provider, with the host country also commissioning one of the continent’s largest hydroelectric dams, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance.
“The choice of Ethiopia for Climate Week and Summit sends an important signal that African voices and solutions need to be at the heart of the crucial debates taking place during CW2 on adaptation, climate finance and NDCs. Implementation and translating global climate decisions into concrete actions are at the heart of the programme for CW2, with several planned UNFCCC-mandated meetings, showcasing innovative solutions through a series of Implementation Labs linked to the COP 30 Action Agenda’s key objectives; and sessions run by the COP29 and COP30 Presidencies,” he said.
“Africa holds 39 percent of the world’s renewable energy potential but has received only two percent of global clean energy investment in the past two decades, a gap that threatens both Africa’s development and global climate goals. Initiatives like the Energy Transition Council show how partnerships can help unlock finance to support the acceleration of Africa’s transition and scale its renewable potential. The Africa Climate Summit 2 and Africa Climate Week must be the turning point where ambition is matched by action,” he said.
The Summit is expected to push for fair and strategic climate financing needed to scale up solutions for Africa’s resilient and green development.
It is also anticipated to call for a more equitable global financial architecture as it builds on the momentum of the previous 2023 Nairobi Summit, which mobilised over US$20 billion in pledges for climate financing.
This led to the Nairobi Declaration, a unified call for reforms to international financial institutions and a range of new global taxes to fund climate action.
