Climate Action: African local governments prepare for COP28

From September 01 to 08, 2023, UCLG Africa took part in three major meetings for the Climate Agenda in Africa. Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, hosted the Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-XI) from September 01 to 02, 2023, the African Climate Summit (ACS) from September 04 to 06, 2023 and the African Climate Week (ACW) from September 06 to 08, 2023.

The year 2023 will be pivotal for Africa’s local and regional authorities, as it will be marked by important events designed to achieve significant breakthroughs in the recognition of the legitimacy of local and regional authorities as key and essential partners in the process of implementing the African Union’s climate agenda.

In this context, UCLG Africa took part in three key events that structure and prefigure Africa’s solutions, position and aspirations in the run-up to COP28, where governments and other stakeholders will officially take stock of progress made towards achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

A delegation from UCLG Africa, led by Secretary General Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi and made up of mayors representing the continent’s 5 sub-regions, took part in all three segments.

Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa – CCDA-XI 2023: Prefiguration of the African Climate Summit Declaration (ACS)

The Climate for Development in Africa (ClimDev-Africa) program, a joint initiative of the African Union Commission, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Development Bank, held the 11th Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-XI) in Nairobi on 01-02 September 2023. The theme of the Conference was “Green Growth and Climate Finance Solutions for Africa and the World”.

The event was an opportunity to formalize UCLG Africa’s climate action within the African Union, and to consolidate the discussions already begun in Addis Ababa with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) on the integration of local and regional governments into the CCDA platform.

The overall objective of CCDA-XI was to produce detailed analytical and factual position papers on the various sub-themes of the African Climate Summit (ACS) and the African Climate Week. The conference was a key step in structuring and formalizing a common African position in the COP28 Agenda process.

During his participation in the opening session of the Conference, Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi stressed the importance of amplifying the voice of local governments and positioning their role as a platform for implementing the Climate Agenda, particularly in terms of adaptation, which is a largely territorial challenge.

Mr. Mbassi highlighted the main projects undertaken by UCLG Africa, namely:

Creating a financial vehicle dedicated to local governments called “The Africa Territorial Trade and Investment Agency (ATIA)“. The aim of this vehicle is to mobilize and channel resources for climate and green growth investments in African cities and territories.
Advocate for the creation of a first relief facility managed by the Associations of Sub-national and Local Governments to help African cities and territories declared to be in climate emergency, bearing in mind that UCLG Africa has been appointed by the global community of regional and local governments to lead the process of defining a common position of cities and territories on the Loss and Damage Fund currently under discussion and expected to be launched at COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The Secretary General of UCLG Africa also insisted on the fundamental role of local governments in the territorialization of climate and resilience actions on the ground. In this respect, he confirmed UCLG Africa’s willingness to join the efforts of the CCDA, in accordance with the decision of the AMCEN at its 19th session in Addis Ababa.

African Climate Summit 

From September 04 to 06, 2023, the first African Climate Summit was held, with the aim of highlighting untapped resources for renewable energies, to enable African countries to develop economically while participating in the fight against global warming, of which they are the main victims. It also aimed to define a common African position in the global climate change process leading up to COP28 and beyond.

In this context, UCLG Africa has made a major effort to influence the Summit’s decisions and declarations, by organizing a number of events in line with the Summit’s strategic objectives, linking climate action and resilience with the economic development plan for cities and territories:

Session on Operationalizing the BCRUP initiative (Building Climate Resilience of the Urban Poor)
Parallel session on “Strengthening multi-level water governance: Resilience in African cities”, organized by UCLG Africa and OECD

“Sub-national financing for accelerating climate action”, side event with the Council of Governors of Kenya (COG)
African Mayors’ Roundtable for Water Security (UCLG Africa and OECD side event) “.

The state event co-organized by the Government of Kenya and UCLG Africa on Operationalizing the BCRUP initiative was attended by the Head of State of Kenya, His Excellency William Ruto, accompanied by members of his government and several personalities from national and international organizations, including the Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Mrs. Maimunah Mohd Sharif. In his opening speech, the Head of State recalled that local governments are on the front line of the climate emergency. As such, he called on UCLG Africa to play a central role as a partner in implementing and mobilizing funding for the BCRUP initiative, which aims to strengthen the climate resilience of poor urban areas in Africa.

Highlights of the Kenyan President’s statement include:

A call for stakeholders interested in building more sustainable and inclusive urban areas to seriously consider the goals and objectives of the BCRUP and support its efforts to alleviate the burden of climate change on the segment of populations least able to respond.

Financing climate change mitigation and resilience remains a major challenge, further widening the gap for countries unprepared to cope with the impacts of climate change, which predominantly affect populations living in poor urban areas.

Invitation to stakeholders, including development partners, to provide strong support for the implementation of BCRUP activities, which include preparedness programs in various areas such as water and sanitation resilience, energy resilience, livelihoods and economic systems of vulnerable residents, urban regeneration, including the rehabilitation of fragile ecosystems, community resettlement and resilient urban spatial plans, green urban spaces and the development of the resilience governance framework.

Recognition and appreciation of the leadership of United Cities and Local Governments of Africa in strengthening the framework for mobilizing climate finance to accelerate implementation of the BCRUP initiative.

Ministerial panel on “Integrated livable African cities, sustainable infrastructure and the pillars of urbanization”.

The aim of this high-level session was to share the various integrated approaches aimed at helping to resolve the countless challenges facing urban Africa, particularly in terms of mobility, transport, housing and the provision of basic public services (water, waste management, electricity).

To bring the debate to a successful conclusion and converge it into concrete actions, the following axes have been defined:

The reform of public policies and regulatory frameworks that promote the emergence of compact cities, integrated urban planning and governance that are resilient to climate change;
Engaging the private sector in a new approach to affordable housing, emphasizing the proximity of affordable housing projects to existing employment centers, the adoption of TOD (Transition Oriented Development) and green building principles, and integration with the modernization of transportation and utilities infrastructure.
Decouple urban growth and development from pressure on natural resources.

Adopt new financing mechanisms, including public-private partnerships, land value capture, municipal/green bonds and climate finance, to generate new revenues for urban infrastructure, in line with the African Union’s Green Recovery Action Plan 2021-2027, and the African Union’s Agenda 2063;
Structuring the framework for inter-city cooperation and exchange in the fight against informal housing, in particular within the framework of the BCRUP initiative.

Side Event: “Strengthening multi-level water governance: Resilience in African cities”

This session, organized by UCLG Africa and the OECD, was moderated by Mr. Mohamed Nbou, UCLG Africa’s Special Advisor on Climate, Biodiversity and Food Security. It was attended by various stakeholders representing the national and local level, civil society, financial partners and academics.

The objectives of the session were to:

Mobilize technical and financial partners to accelerate the process of implementing the action plan of mayors, local and regional governments for water security adopted by the OECD/ UCLG-Africa African Mayors’ Initiative for Water Security.

Discuss and exchange on activities to be planned for COP28 and the Water Forum in Bali in 2024.

New mayors to join the African Mayors’ Roundtable on Water Security

Side event: “Sub-national financing to accelerate climate action”

The aim of the meeting was to unlock the potential of sub-national governments to complement existing sources of climate finance, and foster innovative climate finance for national governments to accelerate capacity building for adaptation and resilience.

As a result of the various interventions, the following key points emerged on:

Kenya’s decentralization framework model, which maximizes the potential of cities and territories, and is therefore a model for strengthening the multi-level governance framework. Within this framework, the creation of counties has changed the face of public service by improving the delivery of basic services in Kenya.

Advocacy for a rebalancing of investments between adaptation and mitigation is necessary, given that only 25% of climate action worldwide is aimed at adaptation;

Direct access to climate finance for local authorities is a pressing demand. As such, UCLG Africa has succeeded in obtaining the status of implementing partner of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), so that through UCLG Africa, there is now a window of access to climate finance for local governments at the GCF level.

Following the recommendations of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda adopted in June 2015, sustainable development can only happen with countries’ domestic financing. According to the principle of subsidiarity, collective money should go where the problems are, which means achieving fiscal decentralization (for example, 50% of taxes collected at national level in Kenya should go to the counties).

Africa Climate Week

Two side events were organized during the African Climate Week held from September 6 to 8, 2023. The first session, organized by UCLG Africa, the Kenyan Ministry, the AfDB, the Commonwealth and partners, focused on the implementation plan for the Readiness project and the BCRUP initiative. The theme of the second session was “Empowering women to overcome climate-related threats and vulnerabilities”.

Meeting – Readiness / BCRUP Program “Building Climate Resilience of the Urban Poor”: Implementation Plans

The partners’ meeting was organized by AfDAN at the national treasury offices in Nairobi under the leadership of Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of UCLG Africa. Also present were: GCF/AfDAN/FLoCCA, Commonwealth Secretariat, Gap Fund, World Green Economy Organization (WGEO), Expo Dubai City, ARIN, APHRC, University of Iowa, Kenya Green Building Society, as well as the mayors who are members of the UCLG Africa delegation.

Commitments and involvement of partners and organizations:

The Commonwealth Secretariat is made up of 56 countries and is able to offer capacity building and technical assistance within member countries during the implementation of the BCRUP.
National Treasury and AFDAN are already engaged in the BCRUP process and have jointly identified the 12 pilot countries for the GCF readiness program.

APHRC/Research Center/IOWA University is committed to supporting BCRUP in research and evidence.

Side Event: “Empowering women to overcome climate-related threats and vulnerabilities”.

The aim of the session was to strengthen advocacy of the gender approach for cross-functional integration into the various programs and strategies to combat climate change.

This high-level parallel session saw the participation of eminent personalities such as Prof. Margaret Kobia, Kenyan former Cabinet Secretary of Public Service, Gender and Affirmative Action, Mrs. Rohey Malick Lowe, President of the Local Elected Women of Africa (REFELA Network) and Mayor of Banjul (Gambia), as well as the President of the WAEMU Council of Local Authorities, Mr. Oumar BA, the President of the CoM SSA Mayors’ Forum and Mayor of Kloto 1, Togo, Mr. Winny Yawo DOGBATSE, the Senior Director of Economy, Youth and Sustainable Development at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Dr. Ruth Kattumuri, and Kenya’s Miss Climate, Dorcas Naishorua.

The session’s discussions focused primarily on sharing experience of approaches that promote the transition from an advocacy rationale to genuine cross-cutting integration of the gender approach into policies, strategies and implementation programs. The session also highlighted the REFELA Network as a lever for accelerating the development and territorialization of public policies.

3rd Round Table of African Mayors for Water Security organized by UCLG Africa and OECD

The aim of the 3rd OECD/UCLG Africa session was to take stock of the progress made in implementing the African Mayors’ Roundtable for Water Security. The Round Table was also an opportunity for Mayors to discuss water security solutions in relation to the urgent challenges posed by climate change and the food, energy and poverty crises. It was also an opportunity for mayors to share their knowledge, experience and best practices, promoting a systemic approach to water, climate and biodiversity, and generating data for sound water management.

Press conference: PACJA

On the eve of the opening of the African Climate Summit, a press conference was organized by African civil society, led by PACJA and UCLG Africa. The aim of the conference was to influence the Summit’s decisions by making civil society and local authorities the key players in the implementation of the African Union’s climate agenda.

The objective of consolidating the formal recognition of UCLG Africa as the implementing body of the BCRUP has been achieved. Future actions include:

The AfDAN platform in Kenya will mobilize its counterparts in the 12 BCRUP countries to each mobilize 500,000 USD from the country’s annual 2024 allocation of 1 million USD to contribute to the BCRUP Readiness Program (no later than September 30, 2023) ;

AfDAN Kenya Focal Point will work with UCLG Africa on the concept note supporting the Green Climate Fund application to mobilize funds to launch the BCRUP Readiness process.

Launch of UCLG Africa’s integration process into the CCDA platform, with a view to formalizing and aligning local and regional authorities’ climate action with that of the African Union.

Official integration of UCLG Africa into the GIZ RIA program (Resilience Initiative Africa).

Recognition of the pivotal role of local authorities in accelerating and implementing the territorialization of NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions).