The proposal of carbon markets and the commodification of Africa’s forests and bio-resources as solutions to Africa’s climate finance challenges is counterproductive. It will only fuel a wave of eco-colonization. Vulnerable communities across Africa are already experiencing grim consequences, with ongoing brutal displacements of local communities from their ancestral homes as capitalists invade and acquire the latest prime sites in places such as Cross River in Nigeria, Kenya, and Liberia among others.
Therefore, African peoples and leaders must stand against the commodification of their forests and bio-resources through carbon markets. African governments must promote policies that reject the notion that Africa could become a storehouse for global emissions, prioritize the well-being of local communities, and protect their culture and ancestral lands.
The above observations formed part of the outcome of the second annual National Conference on Climate Change, organised by Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), ahead of COP28.
At the meeting, a diverse assembly of frontline communities, civil society, scholars, development experts and representatives of key government environmental agencies in Nigeria converged in FCT, Abuja recently.
The gathering tagged ‘‘Creating a sustainable climate finance for Nigeria’’ featured engaging panel sessions and insightful discussions that interrogated the Nigerian Agenda for Cop28, the hidden truth about carbon offsets, the plight of the sinking city of Ayetoro in Ondo State, the unending pollution siege on the Niger Delta, the disappearing Lake Chad, the African Climate Summit pact and other global climate conversations of national interest.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Iziaq Salako, Minster of State for Environment, represented by Mr Jonah Barde, underscored the importance of recognising climate change as not just an environmental concern but also an economic, social and moral imperative that demands coordinated and collective action.
The keynote address at the event entitled Loss and Damage Fund and the Quest for Sustainable Climate Finance Mechanism, delivered by Prof Lanre Fagbohun, Former Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University emphasised the urgent need for a sustainable climate finance mechanism for Nigeria and extension, Africa. He highlighted the necessity of acknowledging that climate-induced loss and damage disproportionately affect the most vulnerable and insisted that the international community must respond with swift, fair, and substantial financial support to address this crisis.
Furthermore, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, interrogated the Nairobi Declaration at the Africa Climate Summit, highlighting the failure of African leaders at the meeting to reach a definite pro-people strategy for tackling the profound repercussions of climate change and reckless extractivism across the continent.
He emphasized that Africa must adopt the social energy manifesto outlined by frontline communities and vulnerable populations in the Global South. The manifesto underscores the critical need for a just transition that halts the cannibalistic and colonialist exploitation of Africa’s invaluable mineral resources – a matter of paramount importance for the continent’s sustainable future.
and then