Report By: Ishmael Barfi
Accra, Ghana – Nana Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, Chair of the African Group of Negotiators for Climate Change (AGN), has emphasized the need for Africa to redefine its own pathway and take intentional action to address the climate crisis.
Speaking on the sidelines of the AGN Strategic Meeting, Dr. Amoah outlined his strategic agenda for Africa’s climate negotiations, focusing on thematic areas beyond the negotiation rooms, including Just Transition, Mitigation Work Program, Adaptation and Loss and Damage, and Means of Implementation.
The three-day meeting, held from March 30 to April 1, 2026, brought together UNFCCC National Focal Points, African Lead Coordinators, and key partners to consolidate Africa’s common position ahead of COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, and COP32 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The meeting marked the first in-person strategic convening under Ghana’s chairmanship of the AGN and was expected to deliver a practical roadmap to strengthen Africa’s negotiating platform, sharpen continental priorities, and reinforce coordination within the AGN and the broader African three-tier negotiation structure.
The strategic agenda prioritizes aligning climate diplomacy with industrial ambitions, ensuring energy sovereignty, and promoting local processing and industrial upgrading. Dr. Amoah highlighted Africa’s challenges, including the lack of National Determined Contributions (NDCs) and national adaptation plans, and emphasized the need for strategic financial direction and mitigation outlook.
Prof. Nana Ama Browne Klutse, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), emphasized the importance of African unity in global climate negotiations, saying, “Africa’s strength in global climate negotiations has always been its unity. At this defining moment, we must reinforce that unity and ensure our collective voice continues to shape outcomes that reflect our realities and aspirations.”
Hon. Baba Issifu Seidu, Minister of State at the Office of the President for Climate Change and Sustainability, stressed that the global climate process had entered a critical phase focused on implementation, accountability, and delivery, adding that Africa must position itself as a driver of outcomes across all negotiation tracks.
The meeting focused on advancing the Global Goal on Adaptation, ensuring climate finance, and safeguarding equity within the Mitigation Work Programme.
Key discussions centered on measurable, flexible, and impact-driven indicators for adaptation, clarity and accessibility of climate finance under the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), and supporting just transitions, energy access, and economic transformation.
As Africa prepared to host COP32 in Addis Ababa, the meeting was seen as a critical opportunity for the continent to consolidate its voice and influence global climate outcomes.
Dr. Amoah noted that the AGN would continue to push for Africa’s interests, with the next meeting scheduled for May to reflect on COP outcomes and prepare for June negotiations.
Source: www.climatewatchonline.com
