At the end of November, the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) will begin in Dubai. Coming at the end of a year that broke multiple heat records, the event is supposed to set the stage for a major push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and boost climate change adaptation worldwide.
However, ahead of the conference, there were already warnings from climate activists and civil society that unless there is a significant change in the approach to climate policies, COP28 could fail to achieve meaningful progress.
In the Global South, there is persistent concern that rich nations and international corporations will push for policies that allow them to continue business as usual, with poorer nations, which are least responsible for climate change, bearing the brunt burden of the climate crisis.
Such trends have already been seen at previous climate events, including most recently at the Africa Climate Summit held in Nairobi in early September.
The conference, which brought together thousands of representatives from governments, businesses, international organizations and civil society, was an opportunity for African peoples to agree on a common position on issues such as damage and loss compensation, climate mitigation and financing of the climate in view of COP28.
But the final document issued by the summit – the Nairobi Declaration – does not reflect a consensus and the best interest of African nations.
This is not surprising, given that lobbyists for the countries and companies of the Global North have been given the space and high-level access to push for bogus solutions. Meanwhile, many of the delegates – activists and members of civil society seeking clarity and solutions to support our continent – faced access difficulties during the proceedings and were left on the sidelines.
As a result, instead of pushing for policies that would see the Global North compensate African nations for historic greenhouse gas emissions that have catalyzed global warming, the summit adopted policies that would further harm African nations.
His statement focused heavily on – and legitimized – problematic practices such as carbon credits, offsetting and trading.
These are false solutions and not what Africa needs. They are a neo-colonial tactic that allows the Global North to continue emitting greenhouse gases while maintaining control of African land and population and taking credit for reducing Africa’s emissions.
Carbon trading is based on the idea that carbon dioxide emissions in one place can be “offset” by expanding carbon sequestration activities in another, such as planting new trees or protecting forests for natural regeneration. This allows the big carbon emitters of the Global North to pay nature-rich countries in the Global South to maintain or expand forest areas.
However, many of these areas are inhabited by local people who use forests and land for their livelihood and food. Carbon trading systems essentially drive people from their homelands and disenfranchise them in the name of carbon conservation and sequestration.
It is already well documented that such systems fail to address rising carbon emissions and enable the greenwashing of rich corporations and nations that refuse to reduce their emissions.
If carbon trading is not the solution, then how can the Global North support African countries to finance losses and damages, adaptation and mitigation?
Cap and Share is an alternative model that is gaining popularity among climate activists and civil society. The scheme centers around an international carbon tax that would make polluters – including fossil fuel exporters and large consumers – in the Global North pay.
This tax, applied to the extraction of fossil fuels, would raise trillions of dollars annually for a global Green New Deal fund, which would finance the transition to renewable energy sources and support energy access for all. The proceeds of the fund will also provide grants for loss and damage, adaptation and mitigation in the Global South, as well as universal cash transfers to support ordinary people.
Cap and Share will create a tax system that works beyond the nation-state. such is key to climate justice and in many ways long overdue.
Modeling suggests that the economic effects of a global carbon tax would be extremely progressive, with Africa seeing significant gains, including the permanent elimination of extreme poverty in all participating nations. This policy can be implemented alongside universal basic income and tax fairness measures.
As we move towards COP28, the mistakes of the Africa Climate Summit and other similar climate events must not be repeated. The voices of climate activists and civil society from the Global South must be heard.
We say no to carbon markets. We say no to selling Africa’s coal, forests and land to the North. We say yes to climate justice and climate finance that comes without restrictions.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of Al Jazeera.