Africa’s positioning in global climate change negotiations

COP 27 provides African countries with an important opportunity to work together and build capacity and agency.

COP 27 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Sharm el-Sheikh in November 2022 is going to be pivotal for several reasons. Taking the final outcomes of COP 26 in Glasgow into account, indications are that COP 27 will be looked upon to take the climate change commitments forward significantly. This report explores the challenges in the climate change domain, examines the complexities of the issues and provides a suite of recommendations in the form of a pyramid of interventions and associated actions that African agencies could meaningfully consider pursuing in 2022 and beyond.

About the authors

Dhesigen Naidoo is currently Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Security Studies and World Bank Senior Advisor and Climate Adaptation Lead to the South African Presidential Climate Commission. He is a leader, a scientist and an activist for positive social change. He is also President of the global NGO, Human Right 2 Water, and a Founding Member of the Water Policy Group.

Manisha Gulati is an economist and a highly skilled, experienced and trusted advisor to governments, not-for-profits and think tanks. She brings extensive experience in facilitating strategic thinking for senior leadership, building impact-oriented thinking, influencing policy and building partnerships in cross-cultural environments. She has over 20 years of interdisciplinary expertise on a portfolio of themes around climate change and sustainable development.

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