Surpassing the +1.5ยฐC limit set by the Paris Agreement marks a historic rupture: climate change is no longer a future projection but a lived reality. In Africa, prolonged droughts, food insecurity, population displacement, and ecosystem collapse are intensifying, even though the continent is responsible for only a tiny fraction of historical emissions. This reality calls us back to a fundamental principle: climate justice is built on equity and the polluter-pays principle.
By mid-2025, only three African countries, Somalia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, had submitted updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) ahead of COP30. This limited engagement does not reflect a lack of political will, but structural constraints: limited access to climate finance, unstable funding flows, growing debt, and the absence of suitable mechanisms to recognize and reward national climate efforts in a context marked by a deepening economic and environmental recession.
This is where ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ becomes essential. Africa can neither rely on existing carbon markets nor bear the cost of its transition alone. It needs ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐ญ๐จ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ, ๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ.
Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement offers a path forward, a non-market approach rooted in territorial realities, enabling countries to move away from speculative mechanisms and design just, durable, and locally led solutions. This is the core of Sovereign Carbon Initiatives: tools that allow countries not to submit to the rules of the game, but to define them.
As we approach the African Climate Summit (8โ10 September 2025), the continent must put forward a clear strategic vision:
โก๏ธ position Article 6.8 as a pillar of fair climate action
โก๏ธ build a pan-African governance framework for climate sovereignty, based on national registries
โก๏ธ and call for commitments proportionate to the historical responsibilities of major emitters
๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐๐ง. ๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ๐๐๐ฒ, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐จ๐จ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐๐, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฅ๐.
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