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As COP30 draws near and countries prepare their positions, a group of over 30 African stakeholders have issued a seven-point communiqué calling for urgent coordinated action that links climate ambition to development needs.

The communiqué which was  issued at the end of a workshop convened by the Society for Planet and Prosperity on 31 October, 2025, to shape Africa’s negotiating position ahead of COP30 in Belém, framed Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as practical roadmaps for national development, stressing that for NDCs to be effective they must be ambitious, feasible, harmonized with national development plans, and backed by an inclusive processes rooted in the continent’s social and economic realities.

The seven-point communiqué set out clear political and operational asks: calling on African governments to treat the climate crisis as a developmental emergency that requires sustained effort from states, the private sector and communities; defending the spirit of multilateralism even as some countries seek to evade historical responsibility; using NDCs as a platform for cooperative engagement with developed partners under the Paris Agreement, African Union Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

A central demand of the stakeholders is the importance of continued support from developed countries. They thus called on developed countries to continue providing the “requisite financial (grant and concession-based), technological, and technical support” that African states need to implement NDCs.

They further urged donor and finance institutions to prioritise bankable, community-led projects that scale local innovations into pipelines that will be attractive to investors.

Alongside finance and technology, the statement stressed the need for inclusive processes that integrate gender, youth and community voices at every stage of NDCs development and implementation.

The workshop also featured an expert panel session, with panelists x-raying challenges and proffering possible solutions as we prepare for the COP30 negotiations and its outcomes.

Mrs. Gbemisola Akosa, Executive Director, Center for 21^st Century Issues (C21st), provided the gender perspective. Acknowledging that about 85% of African countries have incorporated gender into their NDCs, she emphasized the need for gender-responsive climate actions, gender-disaggregated data, and gender budgeting in NDCs, while noting that current climate finance for gender and women’s issues remains insufficient.

“We need to ensure that, not only that we are putting gender equality in our policies, but also, that we are implementing it on the ground getting the desired result,” she said.

Discussing the challenges and progress of the Paris Agreement’s NDC cycle, Iskander Vernoit, Executive Director, IMAL Initiative for Climate and Development, highlighted the disappointment over finance commitment outcomes at COP29. He emphasized the need for increased ambition, the importance of the global stocktake and the role of finance in NDCs Implementation.

“As much as we don’t bear the responsibility for climate damages, and in a just world, we would not have to pay for them. We are being obliged as African countries to pay for these things because of a lack of justice at the international level, and because the historic polluters from Europe and so on are not fulfilling their climate finance obligations in a way that would ensure equity. But, even in the absence of that international climate finance, as African governments, we have obligations to protect our citizens, which cannot wait,” he said.

Iskander also described Morocco’s NDC development process, which involved a whole-of-government approach and integrated existing climate-related plans. He concluded by addressing the need for legal obligations on rich countries to provide climate finance and the potential for legal action if these obligations are not met.

Representing the youth constituency, Samuel Okorie, Advisory Board Member, Santiago Network, discussed the role of youth in Africa’s climate action and NDC 3.0 implementation, highlighting their potential to drive investment and innovation. He criticized the marginalization of youth in decision-making processes and called for their strategic inclusion in policy development and implementation.

“There should be a long-term strategic partnership with youth initiatives, with youth businesses. Is that time we stop being afraid of partnering with youth businesses, but then we start embracing them, and also try to see how their models could fit into the climate action plans of Africa or of various countries,” he stated.

With COP30 on the horizon, there have been growing concerns over the slow pace of submission of NDCs— the Paris-Agreement tool through which countries set national mitigation and adaptation commitments.

These demands come against a worrying backdrop as the UNFCCC’s latest NDC synthesis report shows that between 1 January 2024 and 30 September 2025 only 64 Parties submitted new or updated NDCs, of which 13 are African countries. This underlines a gap between ambition and readiness to implement.

In July, SPP’s Scoping Paper “On the Road to COP30 and Beyond” echoed this urgency, finding persistent gaps in governance frameworks, whole-of-society approach to NDCs development and implementation, access to finance, etc. The Paper therefore recommended that NDCs be reframed into implementable development plans.

The communiqué concluded with a call for African countries to speak with one voice and build alliances at COP30:

“Stand together with one voice, build alliances, and ensure that negotiations reflect current African priorities. In that vein, the Baku to Belém Roadmap; Article 6 and Carbon Markets; Global Goal on Adaptation; among others must be priority areas of focus,” it stated.

African countries negotiate at COPs as a coordinated block through the African Group of Negotiators (AGN), combining technical preparation, ministerial coordination and coalition building with other developing country blocks. This unified position creates continent-wide asks on priority areas.

For negotiators and observers, the communiqué offers a concise advisory and negotiating checklist.

The webinar which was attended by several stakeholders from across Africa was hosted by Prof. Chukwumerije Okereke and moderated by Gboyega Olorunfemi, Team Lead, SPP and Nnaemeka Oruh, Senior Policy Analyst, SPP. Other speakers include: Gbemisola Titilope Akosa, Executive Director, Center for 21^st Century Issues, Nigeria; Iskander Erzini Vernoit, Executive Director, IMAL Initiative for Climate and Development, Morrocco; and Samuel Okorie, Advisory Board Member, UNFCCC Santiago Network.

 

Read the full communique: https://shorturl.at/VNKtC

Ugochukwu Uzuegbu

Communication Officer, SPP

Nigerian Civil Society giant, the Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP), is convening a key engagement among African climate change stakeholders as the continent prepares for COP30 in Belém.

Despite only 13 out of 54 African countries having submitted their NDCs 3.0, the main hindrances can be attributed to limited time, technical capacity gaps, and inadequate financing.

As countries work to close these gaps before submission, it is important to reflect on the development process, and most importantly, implementation needs. These would help shape Africa’s stance and messaging at COP30.

SPP is therefore convening a multi-country stakeholders’ webinar to discuss the NDCs situation in Africa, with the view of interrogating how COP30 can be leveraged to advance practical efforts that will support implementation.

The event, scheduled for 11a.m West African Time on Friday, 31 October, 2025, seeks to bring African stakeholders together to discuss the current landscape of national climate commitments (NDCs) in Africa, hindrances to effective implementation, the intersection between NDCs implementation and sustainable development, key messaging for COP30, etc.

Entitled “COP30: Coordinating Ambitious NDCs Development and Implementation in Africa”, the virtual webinar will feature a presentation on Africa’s current NDCs landscape, interrogate the governance framework that should guide NDCs development and implementation in the continent, highlight country, gender, and youth experiences and solutions, and recommend what should be the focus of African countries during negotiations and bilateral at COP30. While this year has been mostly dominated by conversations on NDCS 3.0, submissions as at 1st October, 2025, still leaves a gap of over 30GtCO2e. What that means is that either the remaining countries overstretch their ambitions or the 61 that already submitted retrieve theirs and increase ambition, the path to reaching expected goals will include ensuring that implementation goes beyond commitments.

Several experts have identified that exploring other options for emissions reduction can help enhance the final reduction output by 2035. Yet little has been said about supporting the conditional targets of developing countries, which can help expand targets.

This webinar seeks to discuss all of these issues while framing a message that can help guide Africa’s multilateral and bilateral engagements at COP30, recognising the key intersection between climate action and Africa’s sustainable development.

Speakers include: Prof. Chukwumerije Okereke, President, SPP (Host), Iskander Erzini Vernoit, Executive Director, IMAL Initiative for Climate and Development, Gbemisola Titilope Akosa, Executive Director, Centre For 21st Century Issues (C21st), Samuel C. Okorie, UNFCCC Santiago Network Advisory Board Member, Youth Rep, Peter Odhengo, Head of Climate Finance and Green Economy Unit, Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) Programme, Kenya; Tirivanhu Muhwati, Climate Scientist in the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife, Zimbabwe, Gboyega Olorunfemi, Project Lead, SPP, and Nnaemeka Oruh, Senior Policy Analyst (Climate Change), SPP.

Register to join the event here: https://shorturl.at/uLZ17

The Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP), in collaboration with the Department of Climate Change (DCC), Federal Ministry of Environment, continued its capacity-building workshop for Climate Desk Officers and Directors of Climate Change from Nigeria’s subnational governments. The workshop which began on 22 October 2025 with a session on data collection and greenhouse-gas inventory evaluation and reporting, focused on Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of climate projects in the second series. Participating Climate Change Desk Officers shared their M&E experience, revealing a mix of beginners and intermediate exposure to M&E practice.

Facilitated by Mr. Gboyega Olorunfemi, Project Lead at SPP, the training sought to address the challenges in monitoring and evaluating climate change projects at the state level, with an emphasis on designing effective monitoring systems and digital tools. Mr. Olorunfemi explained, that adopting effective M&E framework will improve evidence-based decision-making, accountability and project delivery, and help states tell a clearer, more accurate climate story that can unlock climate finance at the subnational level, where it’s needed most.

Delivering the training, Olorunfemi explained the differences between monitoring and evaluation in project management, emphasizing that monitoring focuses on tracking progress and improving efficiency, while evaluation assesses the effectiveness of policy impacts. He presented a simple M&E framework — inputs, outputs, outcomes and impacts — and used a climate-resilience project as an example to show how actions can translate into measurable change at the subnational level. The workshop also covered practical indicators and quality-management measures to ensure project activities deliver intended results.

The DCC Director, Dr. Iniobong Abiola-Awe, represented by Ms. Dolapo John, in her remark stated that the training was as a result of popular demand from engagement with the subnational officials, adding that the Department of Climate Change is committed to strengthening the capacity of subnational Directors and the Desk Officers.

“Monitoring and Evaluation is a very key issue, because one of the gaps we identified in the second subnational governance ranking was documentation. Most of the states do not have sufficient or efficient means of documenting their activities. That’s why you see states that were up in ranking last year now declined in this year’s ranking.” she said.

Following the second subnational governance ranking, several states across the country are tackling capacity shortfalls and pursuing improvements. This training provides officials with the technical skills required to improve state-level climate governance. This is an initiative of SPP that has received support from the European Climate Foundation (ECF) and it continues with capacity building on Climate Finance in the next phase.

In recent years, Nigeria has been feeling the impact of climate change in more visible and severe ways, and one of the most pressing challenges is extreme heat. Temperatures across the country are rising faster than ever, with prolonged periods of heat pushing both people and infrastructure to their limits. Heatwaves and high-temperature days are no longer rare events, and they carry significant risks for people’s health especially for vulnerable groups like the elderly, children, pregnant women, and outdoor workers. 

Extreme heat kills more people globally than any other weather hazard, yet it remains one of Nigeria’s most underestimated public health threats. The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) already provides heat advisories and forecasts, while health agencies such as the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and state or local health authorities also share related public health messages. On paper, this looks like a functional system, one where science informs policy and policy informs the public. But in practice, things are not working well, and lives are being lost as a result.

When Abuja’s temperature hit 39°C earlier this year, the city seemed to melt into silence. Pedestrians slowed down, children huddled under kiosks for shade, and even the evening air felt heavy. Yet amid the sweltering heat, there was little to no public guidance, no clear warning about what was coming or how to cope. This silence reflects a dangerous communication gap in Nigeria’s climate response: we are forecasting the heat but not communicating it effectively.

While NiMet provides forecasts and health agencies issue advisories, there is no clearly defined chain of responsibility that determines who triggers what once an alert is released. The result is confusion; forecasts remain in reports or social media posts without being translated into clear, actionable steps for communities. This lack of coordination is not bureaucratic inconvenience; it is a public health threat. Without a structured response system, hospitals remain unprepared for heat-related illnesses, schools carry on normal schedules in unsafe conditions, and communities are left without practical guidance.

Countries like India and the United Kingdom show that it can be done differently. In India’s Ahmedabad city, once a heat alert is declared, every sector from hospitals and schools to radio stations knows exactly what to do. In the United Kingdom, the Met Office’s color-coded heat-health alerts automatically trigger actions across institutions: care homes activate cooling plans, hospitals prepare for heat-related admissions, and the public receives simple, actionable instructions. Nigeria needs the same sense of urgency and organization.

Another challenge is how heat warnings are written and delivered. Many NiMet advisories are technically sound but difficult for the average Nigerian to understand. Phrases like “heat stress index” and “temperature values remain high” sound scientific but offer little guidance. A warning that cannot be acted upon is as dangerous as no warning at all.

Nigeria must therefore adopt a plain-language approach to all heat advisories; one that tells people exactly what to do, when to do it, and why. Instead of vague phrases like “take precautions,” advisories should clearly say, “Drink water every hour, even if you’re not thirsty,” or “Avoid strenuous outdoor work between noon and 3 p.m.” These messages must be translated into Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and Pidgin, and tailored for vulnerable groups such as outdoor workers, students, and the elderly. Communication should not only inform but instruct – clearly, simply, and immediately.

The communication gap is also structural. Nigeria’s system relies heavily on national media and online platforms, which fail to reach rural communities and informal settlements; the areas most exposed to heat. Many outdoor workers have little internet access or awareness of official advisories. When temperatures soar, they are left to cope alone.

To fix this, messages must reach people through the channels they trust. Community radio, religious institutions, traditional rulers, and market associations are powerful platforms for local communication. In India, for example, community radio stations broadcast daily heat-safety tips, while volunteers share leaflets in local languages. Nigeria can replicate this easily. Ministries of Health and SEMAs can partner with radio stations and local health officers to deliver short, repeated, relatable messages. Churches and mosques can share heat-safety reminders during announcements. Posters and jingles can spread awareness faster than a press release ever will.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that every country develop a comprehensive Heat–Health Action Plan that links forecasting, early warning, healthcare response, and public communication. Nigeria currently has no such plan, leaving agencies to act in isolation and communities unprotected. Developing a national framework is an urgent necessity. Such a plan could be anchored by a “Heat Action Chain”, a simple, one-page guide mapping who does what within 24 to 48 hours of a NiMet alert. Once a warning is issued, the Federal Ministry of Health should immediately notify state and local health departments, which in turn activate primary health centers and community broadcasters. Messages would begin circulating within hours, not days. The faster people hear, the faster they act.

As climate change intensifies, the heat will continue to rise; but the silence around it must not. Forecasting alone will not save lives; communication will. Every uncommunicated alert is a missed opportunity to protect Nigerians from preventable harm.

The next time NiMet issues a heat advisory, it must not end as a headline or a tweet. It should reach the people who sell under the sun, walk to work, or sleep without power. It should come in a language they understand, through voices they trust, with actions they can take. The heat is already here. What remains to be seen is whether our response will catch up or whether Nigeria will continue to be caught unprepared in the rising silence of the sun.

By Kamdi Chike-Nwaka

Society for Planet and Prosperity