Stakeholders push for bold, unified climate action at 2025 Africa Climate Forum

By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

Stakeholders astatine the 2025 Africa Climate Forum (ACF) person called for bold and corporate enactment to physique a resilient Africa that not lone withstands clime challenges but thrives amid them.

Speaking astatine the opening of the Forum successful Abuja, Director-General of the Global Centre for Law, Business and Economy (GCLBE) and Convener of the Forum, Dr. George Nwangwu, emphasized the request for a holistic and inclusive conscionable modulation that places marginalized communities astatine the bosom of Africa’s clime agenda.

“The decisions we marque contiguous volition signifier the satellite we permission for aboriginal generations. Let america situation the presumption quo, clasp innovation, and request accountability. Together, we tin physique a resilient Africa—one that thrives successful the look of adversity,” helium said.

Dr. Nwangwu noted that the Forum is not simply a gathering but a telephone to enactment aimed astatine bridging modulation gaps successful governance, finance, quality rights, and vigor access—critical areas for achieving a sustainable future.

“Africa’s vigor needs are immense. With implicit 1.5 cardinal people, balancing rising request with decarbonisation is simply a daunting but indispensable task,” helium stated. “As we displacement distant from fossil fuels, the benefits of this modulation indispensable beryllium shared equitably.”

He added that since its inception successful 2023, the Africa Climate Forum has evolved into a cardinal level for advancing clime enactment crossed the continent, bringing unneurotic policymakers, concern leaders, civilian society, and planetary partners to beforehand innovative, nature-based clime solutions.

In his remarks, the High Commissioner of Kenya to Nigeria, Mr. Isaac Parashina, described Africa’s modulation to a low-carbon system arsenic an economical necessity alternatively than conscionable a argumentation goal.

“Africa indispensable foster ecosystems that reward efficiency, penalise waste, and elevate innovation,” Parashina said, noting that the continent requires astir $250 cardinal annually by 2030 to conscionable its clime objectives.

He called for just entree to planetary clime finance, stronger home assets mobilization, and enhanced accountability successful money utilization.

Reaffirming Kenya’s committedness to determination collaboration, Parashina said: “Kenya and Nigeria person tremendous imaginable for practice successful renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and c markets. By harmonising strategies, we tin exemplary applicable and visionary South–South cooperation.”

Nigeria’s Minister of Trade and Investment, Ms. Jumoke Oduwole, urged stakeholders to determination from argumentation discussions to tangible investments.

“This speech indispensable not stay astatine the argumentation level—it indispensable pb to investment,” she said. “From c credits to renewables, sustainability to AI, determination are immense opportunities crossed sectors, and this forum is helping to thrust that speech successful Africa.”

Oduwole highlighted Nigeria’s enactment successful promoting climate-smart economical growth, leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to pull and catalyze greenish investments crossed the continent.

“Africa is not conscionable a unfortunate of clime change—we are builders of solutions, and Nigeria is taking a strategical enactment role,” she added.

Representing the Minister of Aviation, Mr. Festus Keyamo, Dr. Samuel Obafemi Bajomo reaffirmed Nigeria’s committedness to advancing clime enactment crossed each sectors, including aviation.

“The aviation assemblage indispensable besides pb successful the greenish transition. In enactment with ICAO’s Net Zero people by 2050, Nigeria has launched a Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy for Aviation,” helium said.

Bajomo besides highlighted ongoing initiatives successful climate-smart agriculture, reforestation nether the Great Green Wall Initiative, and clime education, reiterating the government’s committedness to achieving and surpassing its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) nether the Paris Agreement.

Providing an overview of the Forum, Dr. Benjamin Mukoro explained that ACF 2025 aims to code persistent argumentation and implementation gaps successful Africa’s clime transition.

“The clime argumentation abstraction is dynamic—that’s wherefore we indispensable support coming backmost to the drafting board,” Mukoro noted. “This Forum gives Africa a louder, clearer dependable arsenic we caput toward COP30.”

With the taxable “Bolder, Greener, and Better Steps: Closing Transition Gaps,” the 2025 Africa Climate Forum serves arsenic a rallying constituent for decisive, in...