When Communities Lead: A Personal Reflection on Africa’s Road to 2030 and 2063

 A woman pumps water from a borehole in Nebbi, West Nile (Photo: JEEP)

At dawn in Kisenyi - one of Kampala’s informal settlements, Amina turns the tap beside her home and smiles. Five years ago, she queued for hours at a distant borehole. Today, clean water flows because her community partnered with Kampala City authorities, a local NGO that promotes access to clean and safe water, and a local water company that monitors leaks using simple sensors. It’s a small victory, but it hints at a bigger truth: Africa can turn the tide on the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 when people lead, and institutions align.

Under the theme: 'Turning the tide: Transformative and coordinated actions for the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063', the 12th session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-12) will take place on the 28th - 30th April 2026 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Across the continent, progress accelerates when action is coordinated around lived realities. Clean water and sanitation are not abstract targets; they are about dignity, health, and time—especially for women and girls. In northern Ghana, community-managed water schemes work because they blend public finance with local stewardship. Water user committees collect modest fees, reinvest in maintenance, and hold service providers accountable. The lesson is clear: scale what works by anchoring solutions in communities while strengthening utilities and regulators.

Energy tells a similar story. In rural Malawi, Peter runs a welding shop powered by a solar mini-grid. Reliable electricity turned a subsistence livelihood into a small enterprise, creating jobs and skills. Affordable, clean energy unlocks industry, innovation, and infrastructure when policies de-risk private investment and support local entrepreneurs. Standardised mini-grid regulations, local manufacturing of components, and patient capital can turn Africa’s abundant sun and wind into inclusive growth.

Cities are where these strands converge. In Nairobi and Accra, youth-led start-ups are converting organic waste into biogas and compost, easing pressure on landfills while powering households. Sustainable cities and communities emerge when urban planning integrates transport, housing, waste, and energy—and when informal settlements are part of the plan, not an afterthought. Data from communities, not just satellites, helps cities invest where impact is highest.

Innovation thrives when universities, artisans, and industry collaborate. In Senegal, a makerspace partners with a technical institute to prototype low-cost water meters and energy-efficient stoves. Government procurement provides the first customer, accelerating adoption. This is how Africa builds competitive industries—by backing homegrown solutions with smart policy and predictable demand.

None of this happens in isolation. Global partnerships matter, but they must be equitable. Blended finance that aligns development banks, philanthropies, and local lenders can crowd in capital for water systems, grids, and transport. South–South cooperation speeds learning, while diaspora networks bring skills and markets. Crucially, partnerships should strengthen local institutions and share risk, not export it.

Turning the tide demands coordination: national plans that align budgets with SDGs and Agenda 2063; cities that collaborate with communities; utilities that partner with innovators; and citizens who hold leaders to account. It also requires courage—to reform subsidies, standardise regulations, and invest for the long term.

As the sun sets in Kisenyi, Amina fills her jerrycan in minutes and heads home. Her story is not unique—and that is the point. When Africa centres people, coordinates action, and partners with purpose, the future promised by 2030 and 2063 becomes not a deadline, but a lived reality.

 

Unlocking Africa’s Resilience: Putting People, Finance and Justice First

Community promoting Analog forestry practice in Kikandwa (Mityana district, Uganda).
Photo: Kikandwa Environment Association

At dawn in northern Mozambique, fisherman Joaquim Langa pushes his canoe into waters that no longer behave the way his father once knew. “The sea is angrier now,” he says, recalling how cyclones in recent years have erased mangroves that once shielded the coastline (UNEP, 2023). Each season brings higher tides, unpredictable storms, and shrinking fish stocks. 

Joaquim’s story mirrors that of millions across Africa living at the frontline of climate disruption—where adaptation is no longer optional, but a daily necessity.

For Africa, the forthcoming seventh UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, from 8 to 12 December 2025, comes at a defining moment: How can it advance sustainable solutions while navigating mounting debt, persistent climate shocks and urgent socio-economic demands?

UNEA-7 will take place under the theme "Advancing sustainable solutions for a resilient planet” .

A triple crisis squeezing development choices

The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report notes that Africa is warming faster than the global average, with climate shocks eroding up to 15% of GDP annually in some regions. Yet many countries spend more on debt servicing than on health or climate resilience (AfDB, 2022). With growing populations demanding energy, jobs and basic services, governments are forced into impossible trade-offs.

At the same time, across the continent, people are demonstrating what resilience looks like in practice.

People-led solutions pointing the way

In Ethiopia’s Tigray region, community-led terracing has helped restore degraded hillsides and revive food production (UNCCD, 2021). In Benin, women-run solar cold-storage hubs reduce food loss and emissions (IRENA, 2023). South African youth cooperatives are turning waste into value, strengthening a circular economy model central to the African Green Stimulus Programme.

These local solutions prove that sustainability is not an abstract aspiration—it is a practical pathway to improved livelihoods.

Finance reforms will determine Africa’s trajectory

Africa receives less than 12% of the adaptation finance it needs (UNECA, 2022). To scale people-centred solutions, UNEA-7 must stand in support of accelerating fiscal reforms consistent with the Bridgetown Initiative (a proposal to reform the world of development finance, particularly how rich countries help poor countries cope with and adapt to climate change), including:

• State-contingent debt instruments, such as hurricane and climate-disaster clauses, which pause payments after shocks, have already been tested in Caribbean nations.
• Climate resilience bonds supported by Multilateral Development Bank guarantees, lowering borrowing costs for adaptation infrastructure.
• Reallocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) through African institutions like AfDB to expand concessional finance.
• Domestic reforms—phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, adopting fair carbon pricing, and incentivising circular industries—implemented with social safeguards.

These instruments can unlock the fiscal space needed to prioritise adaptation, ecosystem restoration, clean energy and social protection.

Sustainability must advance, not compete with, development

Africa’s environmental and development agendas are inseparable. Clean energy expands economic opportunity; nature-based solutions protect coastlines and livelihoods; circular economy models create jobs; and climate-smart agriculture stabilises food systems. These pathways align with the AU Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy (2022–2032), which places people at the centre of resilience.

A message to UNEA-7

As Joaquim prepares for another uncertain day at sea, he offers a quiet hope shared by many across the continent: “We just want to live with the sea, not fight it.” Africa has the innovation, the knowledge and the will to build a resilient planet. What it needs is fair financing, strategic reforms, and global partnerships that match its ambition.

For Africa, UNEA-7 is a moment to lead—and the world’s moment to act.

Everyday Peacebuilders: How Volunteers Strengthen ‘Small P’ Peace in Africa Amid Geopolitical Tensions and the Triple Planetary Crisis

Source: www.gkseries.com

At the edge of the River Nile in South Sudan, 19-year-old volunteer Joseph arrives at a community meeting shaded by an acacia tree. The rains have failed again, grazing lands are shrinking, and whispers of tension between farmers and pastoralists drift through the village. Yet the people still gather—because Joseph, a familiar face, has been trained to facilitate dialogue before disagreements harden into conflict.

In a world shaped by geopolitical volatility, rising resource pressures, and the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, volunteers like Joseph are quietly doing some of the most important peace work on the continent. Their actions do not always make headlines, but they build what peace practitioners call ‘small P’ peace—the everyday relationships, trust, and social cohesion that keep communities functioning even in times of stress.

International Volunteer Day (IVD), which is due on December 5, 2025, is a global observance established by the UN General Assembly in 1985 to celebrate the power of volunteerism. What began as a UN General Assembly mandate in 1985 has grown into a global movement. IVD is a day to celebrate volunteers everywhere and to champion the spirit of volunteerism—locally, nationally, and globally.

Peace Responsiveness at the Heart of Volunteerism

Peace responsiveness means recognising how environmental, social, and economic stressors can escalate tensions—and designing interventions that reduce the risk of conflict rather than unintentionally worsening it. Volunteers are uniquely positioned to support this because they understand the subtleties of their communities: who talks to whom, where tension is brewing, and what local histories shape cooperation.

They often serve as early connectors—spotting small disputes before they escalate into major ones. This could involve noticing conflicts between water-user groups during droughts, mediating disputes over firewood collection, or facilitating conversations between youth and local authorities when frustrations arise.

How Volunteers Strengthen “Small P” Peace

1. Building Social Bridges
Volunteers help knit communities together through inclusive activities—tree planting, sports for peace, women’s savings groups, and youth innovation hubs. These gatherings foster relationships that act as buffers against tension when climate shocks or economic stress hit.

2. Conveying Trusted, Localised Information
Geopolitical tensions often fuel misinformation, especially online. Volunteers provide verified information about relief distribution, climate risks, or local government decisions—reducing rumours that could spark conflict.

3. Supporting Local Mediation and Dialogue
Trained volunteers can facilitate dialogue circles, listening sessions, and community forums where people express fears, negotiate solutions, and rebuild trust. Their impartiality often makes them more effective than external actors.

4. Strengthening Resilience to Climate and Environmental Shocks
Because climate impacts can heighten competition over land, water, or forests, volunteers who support conservation, sustainable resource use, and early warning systems help reduce triggers of conflict. Restoring wetlands, maintaining water points, or mapping flood-prone areas all contribute to peace.

5. Amplifying Marginalised Voices
Volunteers often serve as advocates for women, youth, persons with disabilities, and displaced people—helping ensure they are included in local planning, which strengthens fairness and reduces grievances.

Opportunities for Volunteers in a Changing Landscape

• Peace-responsive training is expanding across NGOs and community networks.
• Digital platforms now allow volunteers to map risks and share alerts quickly.
• Climate action projects offer roles that also strengthen peace, from restoring degraded land to supporting early warning systems.
• Youth peace networks are creating pathways for leadership and regional collaboration.

A Future Held Together by Everyday Peacebuilders

Amid geopolitical tensions and a planet in crisis, Africa’s volunteers remain the backbone of community resilience. They may not negotiate high-level peace agreements, but their “small P” actions—listening, convening, mediating, informing—are what keep societies whole.

In countless villages, markets, and settlements, volunteers are proving that peace is not only something signed in conference rooms; it is something practised every day, by ordinary people committed to extraordinary service.

 

Unlocking a Shared Future: How Africa–EU Cooperation Can Deepen the Green Transition

 

When I met Amina, a young solar technician in Garissa, Kenya, she stood on a tin rooftop tightening bolts on a newly installed solar panel while her daughter slept gently on her back. “This work is my future,” she said. “But it’s also how we build a better Africa—clean energy, good jobs, less worry.”

Her hopes echo the ambition of Agenda 2063, the African Union’s roadmap for a prosperous, climate-resilient continent. And they illuminate why Africa–EU cooperation is central to accelerating a people-centred green transition.

Europe’s Global Gateway Africa–Europe Investment Package, aiming to mobilise €150 billion for sustainable infrastructure and clean energy, has opened opportunities for renewable projects, climate-smart agriculture, and digital tools for resilience. Yet cooperation must evolve to address real constraints in Africa’s transition—energy poverty, technology gaps, high debt burdens, weak grids, and limited climate finance.

Across the Sahel, farmers are restoring degraded soils through agro-ecological techniques supported by EU programmes like AgriFI and DeSIRA, proving that partnership can strengthen resilience and food security. In Nairobi, Kigali, and Accra, young innovators are transforming waste into new value—plastic into construction materials, textiles into innovative fabrics, and organics into biogas—supported by the EU–AU Circular Economy Agenda. Circularity offers a powerful pathway for job creation, emissions reduction, and resource efficiency.

However, friction points in Africa–EU relations are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

African leaders and businesses have raised concerns about the EU’s unilateral trade mechanisms, particularly the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

For many exporters—from steel manufacturers in Egypt to coffee growers in Uganda—CBAM is seen as a de facto barrier, introduced without adequate transitional support or recognition of historical responsibility. Producers fear increased compliance costs, reduced competitiveness, and the risk of being priced out of EU markets.

Similarly, the EUDR, while rooted in legitimate environmental goals, has created anxiety among smallholder farmers who lack the digital tools and geolocation systems required to prove their products—coffee, cocoa, rubber—are deforestation-free. As one coffee farmer in Eastern Uganda put it, “We want forests protected. But don’t shut the door while we are still learning how to comply.”

These concerns underscore a broader principle repeatedly emphasised in UN Climate negotiation processes: climate action must be just, differentiated, and supportive of development needs. African negotiators at the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings, including the recently concluded COP30 in Belem, Brazil, underscore the need for transition periods, capacity-building, and finance to ensure that climate-related trade measures do not intensify inequality or erode livelihoods.

The way forward is cooperation, not conditionality. The EU can support Africa by investing in traceability systems, providing technology transfer for low-carbon industrialisation, and aligning CBAM and EUDR implementation with Africa’s realities. Joint Africa–EU platforms need to ensure policies are co-designed, not imposed.

As the sun sets over Amina’s village, her daughter wakes and reaches toward the glowing solar panels. Amina smiles. “By the time she grows up,” she says, “I hope our whole region will run on clean energy—and thrive doing it.”

Her hope is a blueprint. With equitable partnerships, shared innovation, and policies that uplift rather than exclude, Africa–EU cooperation can drive a green transition that is resilient, fair, circular, and true to the vision of Agenda 2063.

Closing the Climate Resilience Gap: Lessons from UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Reports

United Nations Environment Programme’s Adaptation Gap Report (2025)

When Maria – a smallholder farmer in Mozambique – watched the rains come later and later each season, and when Elisapeta  – living on a vulnerable Samoan island in Oceania  – saw the sea creep closer to his home, these weren’t just isolated stories of climate change. They were the lived realities behind the warnings of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Adaptation Gap Reports (UNEP, 2014–2025).

Since the first edition over a decade ago, UNEP’s message has been unwavering: climate risks are accelerating, adaptation finance and implementation are falling short, and transformational, not incremental, change is urgently needed.

Escalating risks outpacing our efforts

From the outset, UNEP cautioned that climate impacts were arriving faster than societies could prepare for. The Adaptation Gap Report 2020 warned that “the world must plan for, finance and implement climate change adaptation measures appropriate for the full range of global temperature increases—or face serious costs, losses and damages” (UNEP, 2020).

By the following year, the 2021 report concluded that “growth in climate impacts is far outpacing our efforts to adapt” (UNEP, 2021). The 2025 edition echoes that concern even more starkly, warning that the world is “gearing up for resilience—without the money to get there” (UNEP, 2025).

For Maria, this means worsening droughts; for Elisapeta, it’s the sea eating away at ancestral land. UNEP’s data backs up what they already know: climate risk is accelerating faster than adaptation progress.

Progress in planning, but finance and implementation still lag

UNEP’s reports consistently highlight improvements in adaptation planning. By 2022, 84% of countries had at least one national adaptation plan, policy, or strategy in place (UNEP, 2022). Yet progress on paper hasn’t translated into tangible results.

The 2025 report shows that estimated adaptation costs for developing countries could reach US$310 billion annually by 2035, or up to US$365 billion when based on national adaptation plans and NDCs (UNEP, 2025). However, international public adaptation finance flows were only US$26 billion in 2023, down from US$28 billion the year before. That means developing countries receive barely one-tenth of what they need.

As UNEP notes, “the adaptation finance gap is widening, not closing” (UNEP, 2025). For Elisapeta, that means his country has plans but no budget to elevate homes or protect coasts. For Maria, drought-resilient seeds exist, but she can’t access them without support.

Transformational change—not incremental steps—is needed

From the early editions, UNEP has urged governments to move beyond short-term, project-based measures. The 2020 report emphasised that adaptation must be “integrated across sectors and scales” (UNEP, 2020). The 2024 edition reinforced this, calling for a shift “from reactive, incremental, project-based financing to anticipatory, strategic, and transformational adaptation” (UNEP, 2024).

The 2025 report continues that call, arguing that adaptation must “transform systems—agriculture, water, cities—rather than patch vulnerabilities one project at a time” (UNEP, 2025). For communities like Maria’s and Elisapeta’s, that means not just coping, but rebuilding for resilience and equity.

Why do the same messages keep returning?

Because they mirror the reality of a world that’s planning more than it’s doing. Risks are rising faster than responses; finance remains inadequate; and incremental efforts no longer match the scale of the challenge.

Each Adaptation Gap Report is both a warning and a roadmap. It reminds us that adaptation isn’t a future luxury—it’s a present necessity. And unless the global community acts boldly now, the “gap” UNEP describes won’t just remain; it will define the future of millions like Maria and Elisapeta.

References

• UNEP (2025). Adaptation Gap Report 2025: Running on Empty. Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme. https://www.unep.org/resources/adaptation-gap-report-2025
• UNEP (2024). Adaptation Gap Report 2024: Come Hell and High Water. Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme. https://www.unep.org/resources/adaptation-gap-report-2024
• UNEP (2022). Adaptation Gap Report 2022: Too Little, Too Slow. Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme. https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/41080
• UNEP (2021). Adaptation Gap Report 2021: The Gathering Storm. Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme. https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/37298
• UNEP (2020). Adaptation Gap Report 2020. Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme. https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/34727

When the World Stopped: Lessons for Climate Change Mitigation from the COVID-19 Response

An empty road in Kampala (Wandegeya) due to the COVID-19 lockdown in Uganda (Photo: Ndahiro Derrick)

When the airport loudspeakers announced that flights were suspended “until further notice,” Maria, a café worker at Entebbe International Airport in Uganda, initially thought this meant a delay of a few hours. It wasn’t until crowds dispersed, doors closed, and silence filled the terminal that she realised something unprecedented was unfolding. Within days, the world slowed in a way no climate policy document had ever predicted.

COVID-19 was a human tragedy—lives lost, jobs wiped out, families separated. However, amidst this turmoil were valuable lessons on how societies can mobilise, coordinate, and change behaviour at extraordinary speed. These lessons are crucial for climate change mitigation, as the climate crisis—though slower, quieter, and less attention-grabbing—demands the same urgency and clarity of action.

Collective action is possible—and can happen quickly when the threat feels immediate 

In the early weeks of the pandemic, governments introduced policies that would have been unthinkable just months earlier. Cities built temporary hospitals within days, entire industries shifted production lines, and communities organised food drives and mutual aid networks.

In contrast, climate change is often perceived as a distant threat—even as floods, heatwaves, and droughts reshape daily realities. The COVID-19 response demonstrated that people are willing to act, even make sacrifices, when they believe their actions matter. The key lesson here is to make climate impacts feel as immediate and real as they actually are, through better communication, local storytelling, and visible leadership.

Behaviour change scales when systems make it easy  

Maria remembers how hand-washing stations appeared everywhere—outside shops, in taxi parks, and even at all public functions she attended. Behaviour changed not because people suddenly became more hygienic, but because the infrastructure made it simple.

For climate mitigation, this sends a clear message: sustainable choices must be the easiest choices. If clean transport is unavailable, if clean cooking is unaffordable, or if renewable power is unreliable, behavioural appeals will not work. System design—not moral pressure—drives transformation.

Science matters, but trust matters more 

During the pandemic, countries that communicated clearly, shared data openly, and centred decisions on science fared better. However, where trust in institutions was low, even accurate guidance struggled to have an impact.

Climate mitigation faces a similar challenge. Emissions data, carbon budgets, and IPCC reports are only as effective as the trust people have in those delivering the message. Building that trust requires engaging communities early, respecting local knowledge, and ensuring that climate policies improve everyday lives—not just fulfil distant global commitments.

Inequality determines vulnerability—and response capacity  

Maria lost her job for six months. In contrast, her neighbour, who worked remotely for a tech firm in Entebbe, hardly felt the economic impact. COVID-19 revealed how unequal societies struggle during global crises.

Climate change presents a similar scenario. Emissions reduction pathways that ignore justice will lead to resistance and deepen inequality. The lesson here is that climate mitigation must be people-centred, protecting livelihoods, supporting transitions, and ensuring that no community is left behind.

Crisis-driven innovation can be transformative

The pandemic accelerated digitalisation, reimagined workplaces, and spurred new technologies. If a similar level of ambition were applied to renewable energy storage, low-carbon transport, green buildings, and regenerative agriculture, the world could rapidly bend the emissions curve.

Maria is now back at work, but she still remembers the eerie silence of those early days. “It showed me how connected we all are,” she reflects. Perhaps this is the greatest lesson: our actions, both small and large, shape global outcomes.

The climate crisis demands that we act with the same urgency—before we reach a tipping point. Global emissions must fall by 40–55% by 2035 (relative to 2019 levels) to keep the 1.5 °C limit within reach. In particular, major emitters must heighten their ambitions by establishing stronger 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions that align clearly with the 1.5°C pathway, supported by credible implementation plans.

Putting People in the Policy: Why Trade Measures Must Champion Climate Justice

Arabica coffee in a homestead in Sironko, Mount Elgon region (photo: Kimbowa Richard)

When I first met Gabriel Wadada, a small-scale arabica coffee exporter in Mbale, he was staring at a stack of papers that had arrived from his European buyer, requiring his attention. “New climate requirements,” he sighed. “If I can’t prove my coffee is deforestation-free, the border closes for me.”

For Gabriel, unilateral climate-related trade measures—like the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) or deforestation-free regulations (EUDR)—aren’t abstract policies. They shape whether his children go to school, whether his community keeps jobs, and whether his farm survives shifting markets and climate pressures. His story captures the core question: Can unilateral trade measures truly support climate action?

This is the question that must be put before negotiators at the ongoing 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Belem, Brazil. At the end of the first week of COP30, negotiators reportedly left the venue with no clarity on some of the most politically charged issues placed under Presidential Consultations, including the question of climate-related unilateral trade restrictions.

Large markets can indeed influence global behaviour by sending strong signals that carbon-intensive production will face penalties (OECD, 2023). This can drive cleaner technologies, discourage emissions leakage, and raise ambition across supply chains (IPCC, 2022). This is true as long as the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR-RC) that has guided the global climate change negotiations since 1995 in Berlin is upheld.

Similarly,  Gabriel’s story reiterates the above position. Unilateral measures can only drive climate action if they do not deepen inequality. Compliance costs—data, certification, traceability—often fall hardest on small producers (UNCTAD, 2023). Without support, such measures risk excluding those least responsible for the climate crisis and most dependent on trade.

Whether these measures become catalysts—or barriers—depends on three conditions:

Equity and Capacity Support

Trade policies must be paired with real investments in producer capacity: traceability systems, climate-smart agriculture, and finance (WTO, 2023). When Gabriel joined a cooperative supported with digital mapping and training, compliance became possible—and resilience increased.

Dialogue and Co-Creation

Affected countries and producers need a seat at the table. Climate standards gain legitimacy when shaped through partnership, transition periods, and mutual recognition rather than unilateral imposition (UNFCCC, 2021). That turns trade measures into shared progress rather than new barriers.

Policy Coherence

Trade tools alone cannot decarbonise global value chains. They must align with climate finance, adaptation support, and national development priorities (IPCC, 2022). Otherwise, emissions simply shift—or vulnerable producers are pushed out of markets.

For Gabriel, the turning point came when his cooperative accessed climate-smart training and digital traceability, enabling them to meet new requirements and increase yields. “If they help us meet the standards,” he told me, “we can be part of the solution. But if it’s just rules without support, we lose.”

So, to what extent can unilateral trade measures support climate action?

They can play a meaningful role, but only when designed with fairness, capacity support, and partnership at their core. Otherwise, they risk becoming walls instead of bridges.

And Gabriel’s reminder stays with me: “Climate action should bring people in, not push them out.”