Climate reparations: justice for Africa

AS WE reflect on Africa Month this year, the impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly pronounced, placing Africa at a critical crossroads in the fight for climate justice.

- RATIDZO C. MAKOMBE

Although the continent contributes less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it remains one of the most vulnerable regions to the consequences of climate change. Rising temperatures, desertification, coastal erosion, and unpredictable weather patterns pose significant threats to livelihoods, food security, and sustainable development.

To secure a just and sustainable global future, reparations from G20 nations to Africa must be viewed as a necessary corrective to centuries of extraction and environmental neglect.

Climate reparations should be built on three interconnected pillars: financial compensation and climate financing; technology transfer and green industrialisation; and natural resource sovereignty with robust environmental protections. African nations urgently require grant-based climate finance that does not lead to debt accumulation. The current structure of climate finance is predominantly focused on mitigation projects in middle-income countries, leaving African nations in a precarious position as they seek assistance primarily for adaptation and addressing loss and damage due to climate impacts.