COP31 must deliver action, not more promises – African climate negotiators

The Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN), Nana Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, has issued a strong call for global climate talks to move from pledges to tangible action, declaring that COP31 in Antalya must be defined by delivery rather than another cycle of unfulfilled promises.

Speaking at the African Group of Negotiators Expert Support (AGNES) Pre-COP31 Strategy Meeting in Nairobi, Dr. Amoah stressed that the global climate process faces a critical test of legitimacy.

He warned that the credibility of international negotiations now hinges on a singular question: whether the system can actually deliver implementation on the ground.

Highlighting Africa’s core priorities across adaptation, agriculture, loss and damage, climate finance, and just transition, the AGN Chair emphasized that the continent’s demands are fundamental conditions for sustainable development.

“When Africa speaks about adaptation, agriculture, finance, loss and damage, just transition and means of implementation, we are not presenting a list of negotiating preferences,” Dr. Amoah asserted. “We are rather talking about the conditions under which our countries can develop, protect their people and build resilient economies in a changing climate.”

Addressing the financial architecture, Dr. Amoah called for predictable, scalable, grant-based climate finance for adaptation, rejecting any framing of climate support as international charity.

“Africa is not asking for charity,” he declared. “We are asking for an international financial architecture capable of responding fairly to a global problem for which responsibility and vulnerability are profoundly unequal.”

He further insisted that the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage must be adequately resourced, responsive, and direct support where it is needed most. “Success cannot be measured by the existence of institutions alone,” Dr. Amoah added. “It must ultimately be measured by whether support reaches countries and communities confronting losses they did little to cause.”

On energy policy and industrial strategy, Dr. Amoah warned against uniform transition frameworks that ignore regional economic realities. He stressed that a just transition for Africa must prioritize energy access, clean cooking, poverty eradication, and green industrialization.

“Africa cannot simply export raw materials required for the global transition while importing finished technologies at significantly higher value,” Dr. Amoah stated. “The transition must create value in Africa, build industries in Africa, strengthen skills in Africa, and create jobs for Africans. That is part of climate justice too.”

He also cautioned negotiators to scrutinize emerging global trade policies, insisting that climate measures must not become a new basis for economic protectionism or inequitable economic relationships.

Dr. Amoah outlined a strategic continuum connecting major climate milestones—which he framed as “B2A2A” (Belém to Antalya to Addis Ababa). Under this roadmap, outcomes secured at COP31 in Antalya must establish a firm technical and political foundation for COP32, scheduled to take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2027.

He stressed that strong political positioning requires rigorous African technical evidence, praising AGNES for bridging the gap between scientific research and diplomatic negotiations.

“At COP31, Africa must not simply be present at the table,” Dr. Amoah concluded. “Africa must help shape what comes out of the room.”