By: Ireen Twongirwe
On 8th -10th September, Global leaders, climate activists, feminists, policy makers, convened in Addis Abba Ethiopia for the 2nd Africa Climate summit under the theme, “Accelerating Global Climate Solutions: Financing for Africa’s Resilient and Green Development”
The first Africa Climate Summit 2023 in Nairobi focused on the theme, ‘Driving Green Growth and Climate Finance Solutions for Africa and the World. It’s important to note that several declaration were made that including a call for increased renewable energy capacity to 300 GW by 2030, a reform of the global financial architecture to unlock investment, and a fair playing field for African products to compete globally.
As global leaders convene in Brazil this year for COP 30 one question demands urgent attention, how will Africa’s energy transition serve the very people it most affects particularly women at the grassroots? They should focus on implementing the Addis Ababa declaration and ensure that all the promises, pledged they made during the summit are implemented. They should have mechanisms to ensure that climate finance reaches at grassroots since there are directly affected.
In addition, across the continent, over 900 million people still lack access to clean cooking solutions and electricity. In rural areas especially Kijumba, Hoima district most communities depend more on biomass fuels like firewood and charcoal remain the norm, exposing women and girls to indoor air pollution, forest degradation, school dropouts, sexual harassments and hours of unpaid labor spent gathering fuel. These realities are not development challenges they are violations of climate, health, gender, and economic justice.
Uganda specifically, is endowed with significant oil and gas reserves, still relies significantly on biomass (notably firewood and charcoal) for domestic energy. Energy poverty has a particularly large effect on women and girls, who have the responsibility for gathering firewood, endure the health consequence with indoor air pollution from the cooking stoves, and lack influence in the decision-making in the energy sector. It’s clear that climate crisis escalated by high levels of deforestation, fossil fuels and this has led to human rights violations, displacement of people and food insecurities.
In addition, the concept of a just transition is often treated as a high-level framework tied to solar farms, wind parks, and green financing mechanisms. But at the heart of daily energy struggles in Africa lies something far more personal and immediate the cooking fire. In my opinion, Just transition means recognizing that women are not just passive beneficiaries but they are energy entrepreneurs, innovators, change makers and community leaders.
Furthermore, when women are supported to lead clean cooking projects whether through briquette-making, solar cooker assembly, or peer-to-peer education adoption rates increase, incomes improve, and environmental impact grows through mindset change at grassroots.
In many African countries, it is women who cook, who manage fuel, who care for the sickened children suffering from smoke inhalation. Yet too often, they are absent from the planning tables where climate and energy decisions are made.
COP30 must not overlook this, A just energy transition is not just about megawatts and grids it’s about dignity, health, time, and opportunity for every African woman and girl who cooks. Their future should not be an afterthought; it should be the foundation of our climate vision.
Recall that only seven years remain to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, and note with concern that 600 million people in Africa still lack access to electricity while 970 million lack access to clean cooking;
Therefore ahead of COP30, as a climate activist I call upon the global community to act with urgency in reducing emissions, fulfilling its obligations, honoring past promises, and supporting the continent in addressing climate change, specifically to accelerate all efforts to reduce emissions to align with goals of the Paris Agreement.
They should also honor the commitment to provide $100 billion in annual climate finance, as promised in 2009 at the UNFCCC COP15 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Furthermore, Promotion of clean cooking technologies and initiatives as a just energy transition must be prioritized and funded with grants not loans. In addition, there should also be total phase out of fossil fuels that have escalated climate crisis in our communities and more funding in the green Economic alternatives that are sustainable, inclusive, just, and equitable for ALL.
There is also urgent need to strengthen actions to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, deforestation, and desertification, as well as restore degraded lands to achieve land degradation neutrality; and implement the Abidjan declaration on achieving gender equality for successful land restoration.
For and my Country
Ireen Twongirwe
Executive Director
Women for Green economy Movement Uganda .(WoGEMUganda)
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