Former lawmaker Sam Onuigbo, sponsor of Nigeria’s Climate Change Act 2021, has called on Africa to embrace climate agency in shaping its own climate future.
Onuigbo spoke at the 14th Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-XIV), holding at the UN Conference Centre in Addis Ababa from September 7 to 9.
The conference theme, “From Pledges to Implementation: The Belém–Antalya–Addis Roadmap,” reflects the continent’s push for practical climate delivery.
In a statement on Monday, he said Africa, home to critical minerals and surrounded by oceans and seas, must set the tone in shaping global climate institutions and rules.
He said Africa must move from merely presenting climate priorities to actively shaping the finance and implementation pathways that affect its future.
Climate priorities, he explained, describe what Africa needs, while climate agency defines what Africa itself decides, designs, builds and governs.
He said implementation, not pledges, was now the real test of climate ambition facing African nations.
Pledges, he stressed, must translate into laws, budgets, bankable projects, accountable institutions and measurable outcomes for African people.
He noted that each climate commitment should specify what must be delivered, by whom, at what cost, and how it will be financed.
Onuigbo said Africa’s climate leadership must be anchored on strong African institutions, capital and authority driving the continent’s agenda.
He added that Africa must mobilise its public resources, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds to crowd in larger pools of investment.
Fair international finance, he said, should support, not control, Africa’s development pathway.
Onuigbo urged African governments, parliaments and institutions to build systems that outlast political transitions and electoral cycles.
He said parliaments were central to this effort, as they approve budgets, pass legislation and hold executive institutions accountable.
He commended the African Union Commission, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank and Afreximbank for convening the conference.
CCDA-XIV continues in Addis Ababa until September 9.
