Africa Climate Summit wraps up with seminal – but flawed – ‘Nairobi Declaration’

NAIROBI - It felt at first like a climate summit born out of chaos. From the confusion around which leaders would be appearing (at one point French President Emmanuel Macron’s name was listed on the official app), to the queues that stretched around the block at the accreditation centre, with tales of people lining up for five hours only to be told that their names could not be found in the system. 

Once proceedings kicked off in the Kenyatta International Convention Centre - a striking, brutalist monolith in downtown Nairobi - few events seemed to take place in their scheduled location, or at their scheduled time. A sudden, bumper influx of some 20 African leaders on the second day ensured the entire schedule of talks and panels fell some four hours behind, as leaders gave carbon copy speeches calling for more climate action, more climate finance and more development opportunities for Africa. 

But whatever way you spin it, the Africa Climate Summit represents a landmark moment for the continent. The unanimously adopted "Nairobi Declaration" represents the first time African leaders have reached a joint position on the question of climate change and climate policy, and it establishes a new, empowered voice that will be taken forward to future climate summits.