{"id":5366,"date":"2025-12-29T09:10:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T09:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.powershiftafrica.org\/in-the-news\/2025-showed-world-must-jealously-guard-climate-multilateralism"},"modified":"2026-10-28T08:54:32","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T08:54:32","slug":"2025-showed-world-must-jealously-guard-climate-multilateralism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/in-the-news\/2025-showed-world-must-jealously-guard-climate-multilateralism\/","title":{"rendered":"Five climate wins that actually mattered in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u202fbegan\u202fthis year with the desire to\u202fprotect the\u202fcrucial\u202fmilestones\u202fmade by\u202fclimate multilateralism\u202fover\u202fthe\u202flast 30 years\u202fby demanding more for our planet.\u202f<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the 10th\u202fanniversary of the Paris Agreement, we had hoped that world nations would\u202ffinally\u202fagree on\u202fa\u202froadmap to bring an end to the destructive era of fossil fuels and put forward ambitious emission reduction targets.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\u202fnational climate plans\u202fsubmitted\u202fthis year, known as\u202fNationally\u202fDetermined\u202fContributions, sadly\u202ftell a different story.\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally published in the <\/em>Nation<\/em><\/span><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BY MOHAMED ADOW<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our world is not changing; it has changed, and so must we.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, floods, droughts, and heatwaves\u202fmultiplied\u202fin frequency and\u202fmagnitude, resulting in\u202frecord\u202flosses and damages\u202fin Africa and globally.\u202f Meanwhile,\u202fthe actions of\u202fnational governments\u202fdidn\u2019t\u202frise\u202fto match the urgency\u202fneeded or deliver\u202fthe scale of\u202ffinance\u202frequired\u202fto\u202fprotect\u202ffrontline communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate catastrophes\u202fwill not relent. Scientists have warned that\u202f2025\u202fis\u202fon course to become\u202fthe third-hottest year ever recorded.\u202fThis calls for sober reflections\u202fas\u202fwe move into the second half of this critical decade of action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The effectiveness of climate multilateralism\u202fin combating the crisis was\u202fchallenged\u202fin a year when\u202ffractious geopolitics and the disruptive presidency of Donald Trump complicated\u202fclimate diplomacy.\u202fThis uncertainty will persist\u202fin\u202fthe years ahead,\u202fas will the\u202fscrutiny on climate multilateralism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\u202fmany of us\u202fhave\u202fobserved\u202fbefore, the multilateral process is our best shot at slaying the climate dragon and all its appendages of injustice, extraction,\u202fenergy poverty, food insecurity,\u202fand socioeconomic exclusion. Multilateralism gave us the Paris Agreement, the Loss and Damage Fund,\u202fthe decision to transition away from fossil fuels,\u202fand\u202fthis year,\u202fnations agreed\u202fon\u202fthe Just Transition Mechanism\u202fto ensure the global energy transition\u202fis\u202ffair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must\u202fall\u202fdefend this\u202fprocess. But the process must also deliver\u202ftangible transformation\u202ffor frontline communities in Kenya, Africa, and the Global South.\u202fThe gravity and\u202fmagnitude\u202fof the\u202fcrisis\u202fdemand\u202fthat nations work together, not pull apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Africa is rising, and its climate leadership is undeniable. By\u202fhosting\u202fa successful and truly African second edition of the Africa Climate Summit, Ethiopia\u202fdemonstrated\u202fthe continent\u2019s climate leadership credentials. Africans have what it takes to steer the world towards a fair, ambitious, and climate-compatible future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was great to hear that Ethiopia will be hosting the COP32 climate summit in 2027. Africa\u202fmust\u202funite\u202fto support the\u202fEthiopian COP32 presidency to\u202fensure Africa\u202fstages\u202fa\u202ftransformational\u202fsummit\u202fthat\u202fdelivers\u202fa historic\u202fdeal\u202ffor\u202fpeople and the planet.\u202fWhere wealthy nations fall short, Africa and the Global South have shown they are ready to step in and step up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the disruptive geopolitics and withdrawal of funding from renewable energy\u202fand development\u202fprojects\u202fin Africa, the transition away from fossil fuels\u202fis accelerating.\u202fAfrican governments\u202fmust\u202fcontinue to\u202fpush for increased\u202finvestments\u202fin\u202frenewable\u202fenergy, adaptation action, and\u202fgreen\u202findustrialisation to create jobs and spur\u202fdevelopment\u202fon the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2026, the scale of\u202fthe\u202fchallenge will\u202fmount.\u202fAfrican\u202fcivil society\u202fmust, therefore,\u202fstep up\u202fits\u202fmoral\u202frole\u202fof\u202fchallenging defective development\u202fmodels to\u202fbuild\u202fnew evidence\u202fand narratives that\u202fdisrupt the status quo and\u202fshape\u202fthe global climate discourse\u202fby\u202fdemanding\u202fclimate and energy\u202fjustice anchored\u202fin\u202fAfrican priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nairobi Climate Talks Series\u202fhas shown how convening African governments, scientists, negotiators, and other experts\u202fcan build political pressure and inspire collaborations that deliver real actions to the African people.\u202fIt\u2019s\u202fthrough this unity of purpose\u202fand strategic advocacy\u202fthat\u202fthe profile of\u202fclimate adaptation as Africa\u2019s priority\u202fcontinues to\u202fbecome a central pillar of\u202finternational\u202fclimate negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet even with\u202fits\u202fsoaring\u202fprominence, adaptation\u202fremains\u202fcritically underfinanced, with the funding gap widening\u202fevery year\u202f\u2013\u202fas African\u202flives, livelihoods, infrastructure, ecosystems,\u202fand economies\u202fare\u202fjeopardised. The\u202fwarm words about\u202fadaptation\u202fin\u202fthe\u202fclimate talks\u202fmust\u202fbe\u202fmatched by the delivery of\u202fresources\u202fprovided to\u202fhelp build resilience and\u202fboost the\u202fadaptive capacity of our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The notion of a poor continent amid mineral wealth, agricultural abundance, and youthful talent is absurd and insulting. In 2026, Africans must finally wake up to the realisation that the continent\u202fisn\u2019t\u202fpoor.\u202fWe\u2019re\u202fmisgoverned, exploited, and taken advantage of. It cannot be remotely just that 600\u202fmillion\u202fof our people\u202faren\u2019t\u202fconnected to electricity while Africa is home to 40 percent of the total global renewable energy potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo languish in poverty and darkness while millions of tonnes of precious stones vital for clean energy technologies are trucked from their country every year? This is poverty by design that Africans must reject comprehensively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After decades of extractive and colonial development models,\u202fthe people of this continent\u202fmust\u202fstart reaping the benefits of\u202fthe\u202fplentiful\u202frenewable\u202fenergy\u202fpotential, critical minerals,\u202fand\u202fthe\u202fnatural wealth\u202fin their countries.\u202fThey must also hold their leaders to account and demand climate-compatible policies, actions, and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We now have a mechanism to\u202ffacilitate\u202fa just transition for local communities, workers, and economies worldwide. The most urgent task now is to finalise its operational details in 2026 and to implement it quickly and fairly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s\u202fboth morally right and legally binding that those with the biggest historical responsibility for climate-causing emissions pay their climate debt. Honouring this debt means supporting climate-vulnerable nations with grant-based finance to transition away from polluting fuels to cleaner, renewable energy forms and build their socioeconomic and ecological resilience to climate shocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the world missed important\u202fopportunities\u202fin 2025, we made\u202fsignificant progress\u202ftowards decarbonising the global economy and\u202fdelivering\u202fsupport to those most afflicted by the climate crisis.\u202fTo save the planet\u202fand give dignity to all,\u202fhumanity must\u202fintensify\u202fthese efforts\u202fin 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all\u202fhave a sacred obligation to\u202fjoin\u202fthe\u202ffight\u202fthis coming year\u202fwith\u202fgreater\u202fambition,\u202fresolve,\u202fand\u202fAfrica\u2019s just\u202fenergy\u202ftransition at the centre\u202f\u2013with\u202fthe understanding that the window to\u202fensure a safe and prosperous future for us all\u202fis shutting fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohamed Adow\u202fis the Founder and Director\u202fof\u202fPower Shift Africa<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We began this year with the desire to protect the crucial milestones made by climate multilateralism over the last 30 years by demanding more for our planet. On the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, we had hoped that world nations would finally agree on a roadmap to bring an end to the destructive era of fossil fuels and put forward ambitious emission reduction targets. The national climate plans submitted this year, known as Nationally Determined Contributions, sadly tell a different story.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":5367,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[28,25],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-5366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-news","tag-adaptation","tag-energy-transition"],"acf":{"url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5366"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9465,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5366\/revisions\/9465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5366"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=5366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}