UNFCCC COP 27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt has just concluded with mixed results. Every year 198 countries that have signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change acting together to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations come together to talk about all things climate change. Well, two things happen; the negotiations by government or parties and the action tracks by hundreds of corporations, governments, NGOs, and scientists all striving to ask the question “What's the state of play?, What do we need to do this year?”.

Set against a difficult geopolitical backdrop, the negotiations didn’t yield the desired and hoped results; however, the action tracks were a success. AUDA-NEPAD led forest landscape restoration initiative; the African Forest Landscape Restoration (AFR100) was among the notable successful action tracks. A landmark agreement to create a new “loss and damage” fund, a $100 billion per year to assist developing countries was also a historic achievement.

In what has become the spirit and tradition of COP, African regional organizations and partners jointly hosted an Africa Pavilion to provide a platform for discussion and ensure that Africa’s concerns and priorities are adequately considered during the climate change negotiation process. The Africa Pavilion provides space and a voice for Africa on climate change and development priorities. It is also a venue for networking of officials from Member States, as well as participants from policy, science, and practice communities.

A snapshot of some of the AUDA-NEPAD events at COP27.

African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN)

The Ministers and the African negotiators expressed concern over the obscure situation on climate finance as some of the commitments are not being met because of geopolitical reasons. The group has indicated that developed countries are backtracking on their commitments on the global adaption goal as the “loss and damage” fund remains only on paper with no actual delivery.

Unlocking Africa's Restoration Potential

The event launched Phase 2 of the AFR100, a new framework that pairs unprecedented investment for restoration with innovative monitoring systems showcasing the success of new and existing locally-led solutions.

Greening Africa’s Food systems

The event which looked at addressing issues of Resilience and Adaptation for food security, economic viability, and sustainability in the continent aimed at building a cohesive voice and implementation strategy on Africa’s signature development initiatives (AfCFTA & CAADP to name but a few) into climate change discussions for concerted efforts in responding to the impacts of climate change in Africa’s food systems.

Unlocking Adaptation Finance and Africa/Europe Partnership

The event looked at addressing capacity constraints and enhancing the Africa-Europe adaptation partnership. It highlighted the need of turning finance pledges into real funding opportunities for Africa, and by enabling African state and non-state actors to build their capacity to apply for and use existing finance opportunities towards the implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and other adaptation-related projects.

COP27 brought together more than 45,000 participants to share ideas and solutions and build partnerships and coalitions. Indigenous peoples, local communities, cities, and civil society, including youth and children, showcased how they are addressing climate change and shared how it impacts their lives.