In November, world leaders, scientists, non-governmental organisations, and civil society will convene in Brazil for the COP30 to discuss priority actions needed to tackle climate change.
For Uganda, like many African countries, where effects of climate change – extreme weather and droughts are disrupting harvests – continue to impact the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on farming, COP is a critical platform for assessing progress on limiting greenhouse gas emissions, agreeing on collective actions to adapt to climate impacts and mobilising financial and technological support for sustainable development worldwide. In the past, Africa has approached the global conversation on climate change merely as a victim of inequitable climate finance.
While it is true that the continent deserves more external funding than it gets, there is need for Uganda and other African countries to demonstrate their ambition and innovation in tackling climate change even with the little domestic resources at their disposal. At COP29 in Azerbaijan, the African Group of Negotiators and leaders urged for equitable climate finance, stronger global partnerships, and urgent action to address the climate crisis. Central to their appeal was the message that the continent is the least responsible for global emissions yet it suffers some of the most severe impacts of climate change, losing an average of five percent of GDP annually to climate disruptions.
During the recent Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) in Ethiopia, for example, African leaders adopted the Addis Ababa Declaration positioning Africa not as a victim but as a key architect of climate solutions, focusing on resilience and green development. Why is this shift in the role of Africa important? Listening to US President, Donald Trump’s remarks at the UN General Assembly over a weeks ago, it was clear that the attitude of major climate change funders such as the US is worryingly shifting. Trump denied climate change, calling it the “greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”, and refuted the use of renewable energy. Such a position, on top of the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and abrogation of most of the US’ international climate finance commitments doesn’t signal any hope to Africa.
There is urgent need for our leaders to undertake internal reforms. Uganda had approximately 30,000km² of wetlands by 2000 but this area has since reduced to around 22,500km² implying a 25 percent loss in the past two decades. In 2015, the Ministry of Water and Environment estimated that Uganda was losing an average of 5,000 hectares of wetlands per year. We continue to lose sizable area of wetlands to large-scale investors and developers, without recourse from relevant authorities. In part, this trend has been enabled by corruption tendencies where authorities are compromised by private investors. A 2024 report by Oxfam, the UK-based global anti-poverty NGO, pointed out another challenge – the lack of accountability for the money that Uganda receives to tackle the climate crisis. According to the study, over a period of six years (2015 – 2021), Uganda is reported to have received in form of grants and loans about $2.2b.
The report highlighted that Uganda’s bureaucrats lack clarity on what climate finance is, do not have a functional framework for tracking and reporting on climate finance inflows from both domestic and international sources, and there is weak coordination of climate finance efforts among state and non-state actors. Strengthening governance and ensuring transparency in climate financing are critical to maximising the impact of resources. The cost of inaction is far greater than the investment required to build a resilient and prosperous future for Africa.
Equally important is for governments to allocate enough funds to innovation targeted at championing climate-smart practices such as drought-resistant crops and efficient irrigation systems to strengthen food security, and mass transportation that relies on renewable energy, waste-to-energy solutions. Africa can no longer afford to wait to be saved. Achieving growth that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, will take bold aspirations, uncompromising enforcement, frugal use of public resources and innovation.