African Climate Alliance

🌍 Just like that, a monumental year of climate justice movement building comes to a close! 💚 The ACA organisational team would like to say a huge thank you to each one of you for supporting our work and being such an integral part of the movement for intersectional climate justice in 2024. ✨ This year has been a monumental one in the five-year history of the African Climate Alliance. If we could sum up the year in one word it would be: movement-building. ➡️ If you’d like to learn more about what movement building has looked like for us, this year, read our final Quarterly Newsflash of the year: https://lnkd.in/d9seqky5 🗓️ For now, we are taking a few weeks off to rest, reflect, and re-energise. We’ll be back in office on 13 January 2025 and we look forward to continuing and deepening this work with you, next year!

Today we have bitter-sweet news as we say farewell to Gabriel Klaasen in their role as Programmes Manager at African Climate Alliance. After more than 4 years of service and dedication to ACA, Gabriel will be moving on to focus on other aspects of this work and continued movement building! We wish Gabriel all the best on this and look forward to continuing collaborating with them in different capacities. Please join us in wishing them very well on the next leg of their journey! We are very grateful to Gabriel for their immense dedication and contribution to ACA and the youth climate justice movement as a whole 💚 In solidarity, The ACA Team

🤩 We're still taking in the landmark #CancelCoal court case victory from last week! ⚖️ In a landmark ruling that saw young environmental activists triumph, the high court has overturned the government’s plans to add 1,500MW of new coal-fired power to the national grid, saying they are ‘unlawful and invalid’. 👉 Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dUA5KB7R

📣 We have made history – new coal has been cancelled in court! 👩⚖️ This victorious moment marks the first time in South African history that youth have led a climate change court case against the government. 🌍 Three years ago, the Cancel Coal court case was opened against the South African government to fight for our futures. The applicants included African Climate Allaince, groundWork and the Vukani Environmental Movement, represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights. Yesterday, we got the news that we won. ⚖️ In a landmark ruling, the High Court of South Africa has overturned the government’s plans to add 1,500 MW of new coal-fired power to the national grid. The court found that the government failed to adequately consider the impact of coal on children’s rights, particularly their right to a healthy environment, saying they are “unlawful and invalid”. 🇿🇦 It’s not only young people that will benefit from an end to new coal. This is a victory for all South Africans as it writes into law the importance of considering environmental and health impacts in government decision-making. ➡️ Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dafrmCaq #CancelCoal

🌍 The climate crisis is already a lived reality for many young people in South Africa. 👩⚖️ In a powerful call to action, children and youth across South Africa are urging the government to advocate for their climate rights at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). As the ICJ prepares to issue an advisory opinion on states’ climate change obligations under international law, young South Africans are demanding that their voices be heard and their rights protected. 📣Today, the South African government will present its position at the ICJ. But, there are currently no plans to include the perspectives of children and youth, who are among the most affected by climate change. ✊This omission has prompted a coalition of child and youth groups, including Black Girls Rising, African Climate Alliance (ACA), Save the Children SA Child Human Rights Defenders, Web Rangers, and the Presidential Climate Commission Youth Leaders Caucus, to speak out. ➡️ Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/daag8raS #ClimateActionNow

🙋♀️ Our ACA Ambassador Programme aims to create more opportunities for young people to lead the change they want to see in the world, and build the capacity and collective experience of ACA youth as socio-environmental justice activists. 🌱 After graduating, the Ambassador journey continues. After completing the one-year Ambassador Programme, we aim to continue our support for each Ambassador’s change-making initiatives with our Opportunity Fund. The Opportunity Fund is intended to support the sustainability and ongoing efforts of ACA Ambassadors. 📝 Past Ambassadors are encouraged to submit project proposals for climate justice projects they’d like to lead in their communities, to receive a micro-grant and mentorship to help bring their ideas to life. 🌍 In the past year, we have supported 7 projects in Zambia, Malawi, and South Africa. Across the 7 projects, over 250 people were reached and engaged in climate justice awareness, education, and action. Learn more about each project on our blog: https://lnkd.in/dyKqyaJx

💡Did you know that the way our electricity is generated, in South Africa, is severely harming people and our environment? ⚡️In October, we hosted an Energy Imbizo in collaboration with Vukani Environmental Movement at Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg. We brought together youth, frontline communities, and civil society organisations to develop a collective understanding of what it means to centre justice in the energy transition South Africa is embarking on and the role the climate crisis will play in worsening the already existing socio-political injustices. ✊We need to make sure a new energy system includes everyone!

💸 “As world leaders gather for COP29, they're discussing numbers that might seem abstract: billions in climate finance, complex funding mechanisms, and international commitments. But beneath these technical discussions lies a fundamental question of justice that affects us all: Who pays for addressing the climate crisis, and who receives support?” ➡️ As COP29 takes place in Azerbaijan – also known as the “finance COP” – we penned an op-ed to unpack why climate finance isn’t just about distant financial transactions. Climate finance is about how we pay for climate action and it affects our daily lives in countless ways. Read more on News24: https://lnkd.in/deXXxX45 ✍️About the writers: La'eeqa Martin, Sibabalwe Stemele, RACHAEL NJOROGE, Sakhile Dube, Mohini Govender, Rachel Itenderezwe(LLB), hadson muwisa, and Lindani Zungu are all part of our ACA Writing Circle. 📝 We launched the Writing Circle earlier this year as a supportive, collaborative space for us to meet, brainstorm ideas, and craft impactful written articles that demand intersectional climate action. It’s a space for young people from across the continent to sharpen their writing skills, learn from others, get published, and make a difference. #COP29

📣 Cancel Coal Newsflash Special Edition – Reporting live from COP29! 🤝 In this week’s Newsflash, ACA’s Cancel Coal Campaigner Sibusiso Mazomba has compiled a list of essential reading as world leaders and organisations meet to discuss global climate action at #COP29. Highlights from Issue 27 include: 🛢️ Oil & Gas Accountability: A Greenpeace International survey highlights global support for oil and gas companies to pay for climate damage, with youth leading the call for corporate responsibility and funding climate adaptation. 💸 COP29 Climate Finance Call: African nations demand more than symbolic figures, urging for $1.3 trillion annually in climate finance from 2025, prioritising grants to ease the debt burden and support vulnerable communities. ✈️ Sustainable Aviation Funding: A new platform is backing climate-friendly aviation tech, closing its first funding window on 15 December. This initiative supports innovations that cut the aviation sector’s carbon emissions. 🔄 US Climate Policy Limits: Despite interest in potential changes, Trump’s ability to roll back U.S. climate policies faces legal and state-level challenges, securing some key renewable energy measures. 🏆 Earthshot Prize Spotlight: Cape Town hosted the Earthshot Prize 2024, celebrating eco-innovators like Ghana's GAYO and Kenya's solar-powered cooling project, emphasising Africa’s role in sustainable solutions. 🐧 Penguin Crisis Alert: Africa's penguins face a critical decline, with numbers down over 70% since the 1990s due to overfishing, habitat loss, and climate change. Conservationists are urging stronger protections. 👇 Read the latest issue below and browse previous issues here: https://lnkd.in/dk9fBKnJ

📣 COP29 starts today. While this global conference has many shortcomings – especially when it comes to accessibility for grassroots activists – we see it as an important moment for movement building beyond high-level negotiations. We see it as an opportunity for climate organizers, from across the world, to connect, make their voices heard, and plan for a united, global climate justice movement. 🌍 With climate disasters becoming more and more common, the mandate for COP29 is clear: Parties must come together to agree on a new climate finance goal that will shape climate action for years to come. COP29 needs to mark a turning point in climate cooperation and support for the Global South. Our future is in the balance. ➡️ Swipe through to hear what two of ACA’s team members are hoping for as they attend COP29. #COP29 #ClimateJusticeNow