African CSOs rally behind AGN Chair as Africa pushes climate finance priorities at COP31

African civil society organisations (CSOs) have commended the leadership of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN) for advancing the continent’s priorities at the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye.

The organisations say Africa is maintaining a united voice in demanding climate justice, adequate and accessible climate finance, and meaningful implementation of commitments to address the growing impacts of climate change.

The commendation followed a briefing by the AGN Chair, Nana Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, on progress in the negotiations and the continent’s priorities for the conference.

He said the African negotiating bloc entered COP31 with high expectations and had made significant progress in securing the inclusion of three key supplementary agenda items to ensure that Africa’s financial and structural concerns received attention in the negotiations.

The priorities include access to climate finance, particularly grants and highly concessional funding, increased adaptation finance, and greater ambition in the replenishment of the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

“We wanted to achieve success in this meeting by making sure that climate finance is high on the agenda and, in that case, finance that speaks to grants and then highly concessional.

“Second, we also wanted to prioritize adaptation financing and in this context, wanted to have space for conversation on tripling adaptation finance.

“We also wanted to see ambition in the replenishment that would be happening next year on the GCF and the loss and damage fund,” said Nana Amoah.

The AGN Chair said the continent was also seeking clarity on the emerging climate and trade discussions, warning that related measures should not undermine Africa’s development and industrialisation ambitions.

He noted that the outcomes of COP31 would be important in laying the groundwork for COP32, which is expected to place greater emphasis on implementation and investment.

Nana Amoah urged African civil society organisations to intensify their advocacy around the key issues before negotiators, particularly climate finance, adaptation, trade-related barriers to development and a just transition that reflects Africa’s unique circumstances.

He stressed the importance of sustained collaboration between negotiators and civil society groups in ensuring that the continent’s priorities translated into meaningful outcomes.

Augustine Njamnshi of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) commended the AGN leadership for its progress and sense of purpose in ensuring that Africa’s priorities remained on the negotiation table.

He pledged the continued support of African civil society organisations towards securing a positive outcome at COP31, emphasising the importance of collective action in advancing the continent’s climate justice agenda.