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From Pledges to Progress: CECIC's Position on the Africa Climate Summit 2 (ACS2)

The Accountability Summit

Centre for Citizens Conserving Environment & Management (CECIC), a Ugandan-based non-profit organization dedicated to environmental justice and community resilience, issues this position paper at a critical juncture for Africa’s climate future. The Africa Climate Summit 2 (ACS2) in Addis Ababa arrives amidst a backdrop of escalating climate impacts and a persistent deficit in global justice and the inaugural Summit in Nairobi (ACS1) was a watershed moment, successfully reframing Africa’s narrative from one of vulnerability to one of agency and opportunity, encapsulated in the Nairobi Declaration. The declaration’s call to “accelerate all efforts to raise the capital needed to unlock Africa’s climate-positive growth” was a powerful signal of intent.

However, as noted in numerous post-Summit analyses, including our own community-level assessments, the transition from declarative ambition to actionable, funded projects has been frustratingly slow. ACS2, therefore, cannot be a mere reiteration of past promises. But It must be the “Accountability Summit” which must answer the difficult questions posed by civil society and grassroots movements: Where is the finance? Where are the implementation mechanisms? How are the most affected communities being centered in solutions? This paper articulates a frontline perspective on the concrete deliverables required to ensure ACS2 is a genuine turning point, not a forgotten chapter in a cycle of unmet expectations.

The urgency of this moment cannot be overstated since ACS1, Africa has experienced a relentless onslaught of climate-related disasters and the  Horn of Africa has endured its worst drought in 40 years, pushing millions into acute food insecurity. Cyclones Freddy and Idai devastated Southern Africa, causing billions in damages and displacing countless communities and in West Africa, rising sea levels and coastal erosion threaten entire cities like Lagos and Accra. These events are not isolated incidents but part of a pattern of intensifying climate impacts that demand immediate and scaled response. The Nairobi Declaration recognized this reality, but the gap between recognition and action remains vast and the  ACS2 must close this gap by delivering concrete commitments, robust mechanisms, and inclusive processes that prioritize the needs and voices of those most affected. The world is watching, and the credibility of Africa’s climate leadership hinges on the outcomes of this Summit.

The Stakes

The existential threat posed by climate change to African economies, ecosystems, and social fabric is no longer a future forecast; it is a present-day reality whose  statistics are staggering but they fail to capture the full human toll of  failed harvests leading to deepened food insecurity, water scarcity fueling inter-communal conflict, and extreme weather events displacing millions internally. The African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN) estimates that the continent is already losing 5-15% of its GDP per capita growth annually due to climate change impacts and that adaptation costs alone could reach $50 billion per year by 2050. Despite these staggering needs, the global response has been characterized by a profound failure of obligation. OECD figures consistently show that climate finance pledges from developed nations remain unmet, and what little arrives is predominantly in the form of loans, not grants and this effectively forces African nations to take on new debt to solve a crisis they did not create a fundamentally unjust proposition.

While the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) benchmark of $1.3 trillion in external climate finance annually by 2035 is not an arbitrary figure; it is a data-driven estimate of what is required for a just energy transition, climate-resilient development, and to address loss and damage. For example, the Great Green Wall initiative, aimed at restoring 100 million hectares of degraded land across the Sahel, requires an estimated $33 billion to achieve its goals by 2030 and yet, despite high-profile pledges, only a fraction of this funding has been disbursed. Similarly, the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI), which seeks to add 300 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, has struggled to secure the necessary investments due to bureaucratic hurdles and risk aversion among international financiers. ACS2 must unequivocally reject any agenda that attempts to water down this target or obscure the principle of grants-based, obligation-bound finance. The Summit must also address the issue of loss and damage, which has long been neglected in climate finance discussion and while the  recent establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP28 was a step forward, but the initial pledges totaling just over $700 million are grossly inadequate to address the scale of nee and Africa must use ACS2 to demand that the Fund is capitalized at a level commensurate with the damages suffered by the continent.

The False Promise of Debt Swaps and Risky Mechanisms

In the vacuum of sufficient grant-based finance, mechanisms like debt-for-climate swaps are being aggressively promoted by certain actors as a panacea while theoretically appealing, our analysis, supported by numerous economic studies, concludes that they are a dangerous distraction. These instruments are notoriously complex, administratively burdensome, and yield minuscule fiscal space relative to the scale of need. A successful swap might liberate tens of millions of dollars for climate action, a sum dwarfed by the trillion-dollar annual requirement. For instance, the recent debt-for-nature swap in Seychelles, often touted as a success story, generated $22 million for marine conservation a commendable effort but one that pales in comparison to the $500 million needed annually for climate adaptation in small island developing states. Similarly, the debt suspension initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), provided temporary relief but failed to address the structural issues of debt sustainability.

Relying on such mechanisms allows historical polluters and financial institutions to appear engaged while avoiding their primary responsibility: providing new, additional, and predictable grant finance. Furthermore, these swaps often come with stringent conditionalities that can undermine national sovereignty and community-led priorities such as  debt swaps may require countries to prioritize projects that align with donors’ interests rather than local needs, or to adopt specific economic policies that may not be in the best interest of the population. At ACS2, Africa must present a united front against the financialization of climate crisis and the offloading of risk onto the continent. The message must be clear debt swaps can be, at best, a minor adjunct to a comprehensive funding package, never its centerpiece. Instead, the summit should explore innovative financing mechanisms that prioritize justice and equity, such as climate reparations,  and special drawing rights (SDRs) reallocated to climate-vulnerable countries.

The Geopolitical Opportunity: Strategic Agency within BRICS+

The evolving global geopolitical order, marked by the expansion of BRICS to include Egypt, Ethiopia, and others, presents a unique strategic opportunity for Africa. This bloc, representing a significant share of the global economy and population, offers a platform to disrupt the traditional North-South power dynamics that have stymied climate progress however, as argued by policy analysts at the African Climate Foundation, this leverage is not automatic. without a pre-negotiated, coherent, and united African position, there is a grave risk of ACS2 outcomes being co-opted by the interests of other BRICS+ members, potentially leading to new dependencies and Africa must enter these spaces not as a supplicant but as a strategic partner with a clear agenda.

ACS2 must serve as the crucible for forging this common position, one that prioritizes African-owned industrialization, fair terms of trade and investment in continental value chains. For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which produces over 70% of the world’s cobalt, a critical mineral for renewable energy technologies, receives only a tiny fraction of the value generated by the global battery supply chain.

By leveraging its collective bargaining power within BRICS+, Africa can demand better terms of trade, including local processing and manufacturing of  technologies . The goal is to ensure that climate finance and investment serve Africa’s development priorities, not just the energy security or economic interests of external partners. ACS2 should establish a working group to develop a common African position on these issues, ensuring that the continent speaks with one voice in international forums.

Championing Proven, People-Centered Solutions Over False Fixes

The narrative surrounding climate solutions is often contested, the  ACS2 must champion Africa’s right to define its own pathway based on proven, socially-just, and ecologically-sound technologies. There is a growing push by external actors for high-risk, unproven techno-fixes like solar radiation management (SRM) and large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS), these technologies carry immense ecological and geopolitical risks and serve as a distraction from the urgent need to phase out fossil fuel , SRM could disrupt monsoon patterns critical for agriculture in Asia and Africa, while CCS is often used to justify continued fossil fuel extraction rather than a transition to renewables.

Instead, the Summit must aggressively advocate for the solutions that deliver immediate resilience, economic development, and energy access. This includes:

• Decentralized Renewable Energy: Leveraging Africa’s immense solar, wind, and geothermal potential to build resilient, community-owned energy systems that power homes, schools, and small businesses. For instance, the Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (KOSAP) has brought electricity to over 250,000 households in remote areas, improving livelihoods and reducing reliance on diesel generators.
• Climate-Smart Agroecology: Investing in farmer-led, nature-positive agricultural practices that enhance food sovereignty, improve soil health, and build resilience against climate shocks. In Malawi, the use of conservation agriculture techniques has helped farmers increase yields by up to 30% while reducing water usage and soil erosion.
• Resilient Circular Infrastructure: Building infrastructure designed for a new climate reality, from water-harvesting systems to climate-proofed roads, using circular economy principles. In Ethiopia, the construction of terraces and check dams has reduced soil erosion and improved water availability for millions of smallholder farmers.

These are not just mitigation and adaptation strategies; they are the bedrock of a new, inclusive, and sustainable economic model for Africa and ACS2 should establish a platform for sharing these success stories and scaling them up across the continent.

The Imperative of Accountability and Inclusive Governance

The greatest failure of the global climate regime has been one of accountability where  pledges are made and promptly forgotten. ACS2 must break this cycle by institutionalizing robust, transparent, and participatory mechanisms for monitoring, review, and implementation. This means moving beyond vague declarations to establish:

• A publicly accessible tracker for all climate finance commitments made to Africa, with clear timelines for disbursement. This tracker should be managed by an independent body, such as the African Union, and include detailed information on the terms, conditions, and outcomes of each project.
• Independent, multi-stakeholder review bodies at national and regional levels to assess progress and hold governments and partners accountable. These bodies should include representatives from civil society, academia, and the private sector, and their findings should be made public and inform future decision-making.
• Mandatory and meaningful inclusion of civil society, women’s groups, youth movements, and indigenous knowledge holders in all phases of project design, decision-making, implementation, and evaluation. Finance must be devolved to the local level to ensure it reaches those on the frontlines. The Green Climate Fund’s (GCF) enhanced direct access modality, which channels funding through national institutions, has shown promise in ensuring that resources are allocated based on local priorities.Without these mechanisms, ACS2 risks repeating the mistakes of the past, where grand announcements are followed by little tangible change. The Summit should also address the issue of corruption and mismanagement, which have undermined many well-intentionedinitiatives through promoting transparency and accountability, ACS2 can build trust and ensure that climate finance delivers real benefits for African people.

Call to Action: Key Demands for ACS2

Therefore, we, the Centre for Citizens Conserving Environment & Management (CECIC), demand that ACS2 deliver:

1. An Actionable Addis Ababa Implementation Plan: A binding road map with clear timelines, responsible entities, and milestones for delivering the $1.3 trillion annually, with at least 50% allocated to adaptation and locally-led action and  this plan should include specific targets for renewable energy deployment, ecosystem restoration, and climate-resilient agriculture.
2. A Formal Rejection of Debt-as-Climate-Finance: A unified African position demanding grants-based finance and rejecting the framing of loans and risky debt swaps as primary solutions, is position should be reflected in all outcomes and declarations from the Summit.
3. A BRICS+ Coordination Mechanism: The establishment of a dedicated African task force to ensure a unified climate and development agenda is advanced within the bloc, protecting African interests. This mechanism should facilitate regular dialogue and strategy sessions among African members of BRICS+.
4. A Moratorium on Risky Technologies: A strong political statement against the deployment of geoengineering and other unproven technologies on the African continent, prioritizing proven, people-centered solutions and this statement should be backed by a commitment to invest in research and development of locally appropriate technologies.
5. A Charter for Inclusive Governance: The adoption of a formal charter guaranteeing the equitable participation of frontline communities and civil society in all national and regional climate governance structures established post-ACS2. This charter should include provisions for capacity-building, funding, and decision-making power for these groups.

The Africa Climate Summit 2 is more than a conference but  it is a test of political will and a measure of our collective commitment to climate  justice. The path forward is clear where the Nairobi declaration provided the vision and Addis Ababa must now provide the engine, the fuel, and the driver a mechanism for delivery, the promised finance, and the people at the wheel. We call upon African leaders to demonstrate the courage required to move from rhetoric to transformative action. The world is watching, but more importantly, the people of Africa are waiting and let ACS2 be remembered not for its speeches, but for its legacy of tangible progress and unwavering justice.

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