The Africa Climate Justice Group (ACJG), a coalition of 17 movement-based organisations in Africa is set to orgainse a counter Conference of the Parties (COP) on Climate Change ahead of the United Nations’ main event — the COP26 in Glasgow, United Kingdom.
The group in a statement made available to The New Diplomat said the counter COP was necessitated by the failure of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) over the years to address the climate crises ravaging the African continent.
The group’s Coordinator, Maimoni Ubrei-Joe accused some rich governments and big corporations in the global North of nurturing interests that undermine the climate structure in Africa.
The COP26 is scheduled to be held in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, between 31 October and 12 November 2021. During the summit, over 190 world leaders are expected to work together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Worried by the skewed outcome of previous COPs against Africa and its people, the ACJG expressed readiness to hold its counter-COP, a summit aimed at proffering real solutions to the climate crisis rocking Africa.
The counter-COP will hold between 25th of October, 2021 and 27th of October 2021. According to the statement, the main part of the Counter-COP will take place online through self-organised sessions on topics related to the climate and ecological crisis with a focus on Africa.
The statement further added that an “African Peoples’ Agreement on Climate” – a report on the resolutions from the submit will be adopted and submitted to African governments, institutions, who would in turn go to the upcoming COP26 and negotiate the interest of Africans.
Speaking on the essence of the counter COP, Ubrei-Joe said: “For 26 years, the voices of communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis in Africa have been shut out and blocked at every turn of the climate negotiations by corporations and rich governments.
“These vested interests have undermined real solutions that address the core causes of climate change and have instead put forward a host of false solutions, all part of their green washing efforts.
“The Counter COP presents an opportunity for the voices of the people of Africa to finally be heard.”
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