Group Urges AU To Accelerate AfCFTA, Climate Finance Implementation

Leaders of the African Union (AU) have been tasked to enforce the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement and Climate Finance at its meeting holding February 18-19, 2023 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

ONE Campaign, a global organization working to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, charged the AU which is holding its 36th ordinary session two years after the AfCFTA agreement became operational to enable free movement of people, goods and services, make it easy and affordable to do business, and produce goods and services.

The group charged AU leaders to unlock additional investment for critical infrastructure; Enact and enforce a consolidated national start-up law, like the Nigerian Startup Act, to improve the business environment; Adopt the recommendations of Dakar 2 declaration on food sovereignty and resilience.

AU and East Africa director of the ONE Campaign, Dorine Nininahazwe, said the AfCTFA is a vast free trade region bringing together the 55 countries of the AU and eight regional economic communities. The overall mandate is to create a single continental market with a population of about 1.3 billion people and a combined Gross Domestic Product of approximately $3.4 trillion.

Nininahazwe said the success of the AfCTFA could lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty, adding that the importance of the AfCTFA cannot be overstated, given the low proportion of inter-African trade when compared with other regions.

Although Africa may be burdened with many challenges, the AfCTFA is a vital opportunity to build an integrated, prosperous and dynamic Africa driven by its leaders and citizens and represent a dynamic force in the global arena.

One Campaign further urged AU leaders to build resilience to the devastating impact of climate change by ensuring that climate finance for adaptation is a top priority. ‘Africa is on the frontline of a climate emergency it did not create and is currently facing a financing gap of US$41 billion a year for adaptation.

“The AU should urge high income countries to deliver on their promises of adaptation finance, which means delivering on the goal of $100 billion a year for any year in 2020-2025, addressing any shortfalls through increased contributions in subsequent years, and setting out a delivery plan for the commitment to double adaptation finance as agreed at COP27,” it stated.

The continent has only made slight progress in its execution. African countries have been struggling with the effects of pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate change.  The meeting will take stock of the wins and lost opportunities of the AU meeting and the organisation’s plans to meet its objectives.

Already, 22 African countries are in debt distress or at a high risk of it – unable to address the reverberations, notably the rising cost of living, and loss of jobs and incomes.