Energy and Climate Justice

The climate crisis is one of the greatest challenges in human history. It threatens not only the natural foundations of life worldwide, but also the economic and social development of entire societies. Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius has become the linchpin of an ambitious, fair and development-promoting international climate policy that contributes to the protection of human lives and the preservation of livelihoods, biodiversity and species diversity.

People on the African continent produce only a fraction of climate-damaging greenhouse gases - but are feeling the full impact of global warming. In 2022, more than 110 million people in various African countries were affected by extreme weather events such as heatwaves, cyclones and floods, threatening their livelihoods. At the same time, many countries on the continent do not have the necessary adaptation and coping capacities to at least begin to mitigate the catastrophic consequences of the climate crisis. There are also challenges in terms of access to energy. Despite the great potential for climate-friendly renewable energy, the majority of people on the African continent have no access to it at all, even though it is a fundamental part of overcoming extreme poverty and reducing inequality.

We are committed to an ambitious international climate policy based on solidarity. To this end, we are building stable, broad and progressive alliances between the environmental movement, politics and trade unions. In order to combat the climate crisis, a drastic and rapid global reduction in greenhouse gases is necessary. A Just Transition can be used here as an instrument of solidarity to create a socially just, climate-neutral and gender-equitable future from which all people worldwide can benefit. Burdens and opportunities must be distributed fairly in the socio-ecological transformation. As a continent that has contributed little to the climate crisis but is suffering massively from it, Africa needs support in overcoming the consequences - in the form of financial support, technical equipment and knowledge transfer.