Africa must move from making climate commitments to enforcing them through stronger laws, budgets and parliamentary oversight, the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) has said, as the continent seeks greater influence over global climate governance.
Speaking at the 14th Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, PAP First Vice-President Hon. Dr. Ashebir Gayo called for African parliaments to play a more decisive role in translating international climate pledges into national action.
The conference, running from September 7 to 9, is organised by the Climate for Development in Africa Programme of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa under the theme, “From Pledges to Implementation: The Belém–Antalya–Addis Roadmap.”
It brings together policymakers, climate negotiators, parliamentarians, development partners and experts to strengthen Africa’s climate response and prepare for greater engagement ahead of COP31.
Gayo said Africa’s climate leadership should go beyond participation in international negotiations to developing solutions rooted in the continent’s economic, environmental and development realities.
He highlighted the PAP Model Law on Climate Change as a key instrument for helping African Union member states strengthen national climate legislation and convert regional and international commitments into enforceable policies.
The model legislation covers climate governance and planning, mitigation, adaptation, resilience, loss and damage, climate finance, climate-induced displacement, carbon markets, climate data, regional cooperation, compliance, access to justice and public participation.
The PAP delegation to the conference includes Gayo, PAP Committee on Rural Economy, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources member Hon. Abdallah Barkat and technical officials from the PAP Secretariat.
Gayo said climate action must also be linked to Africa’s wider development priorities, particularly food security, agriculture, land management and natural-resource protection.
He pointed to the PAP Model Law on Food and Nutrition Security in Africa, adopted in 2022, and the Model Law on Sustainable Soil Management as complementary frameworks for strengthening food systems, protecting soils, supporting livelihoods and building resilience to climate shocks.
For Africa, the challenge is increasingly shifting from securing climate commitments to ensuring that those commitments produce measurable benefits for communities facing droughts, floods, food insecurity and other climate-related pressures.
Gayo also called for accessible, affordable and predictable climate finance, arguing that financing gaps continue to undermine the implementation of climate programmes across the continent.
He urged stronger parliamentary oversight and accountability, alongside greater cooperation among African legislatures and international parliamentary networks.
Such cooperation, he said, could help countries share legislative experience and develop practical approaches to climate finance, resilient infrastructure, clean energy, agricultural transformation, natural-resource governance and economic resilience.
The PAP’s intervention comes as African countries seek a stronger collective voice in global climate negotiations while confronting the growing economic and social costs of climate change.
The parliament argues that stronger legislation, effective institutions, and sustained oversight will be critical if Africa is to turn its climate ambitions into development outcomes and build a more resilient future.
