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This appeal recommends to African governments to formulate a strong common position in international climate change negotiations to avoid being overpowered by the developed North and by the G77 and China.

On a general level, the Appeal calls upon African Governments to:

•  Ensure that the common position is proposed by strong, well coordinated and informed teams of negotiators. 
•  Develop relevant climate change legislations, policies and programmes nationally and to improve on the overall resource governance frameworks.
• Factor-in climate change into national poverty reduction and development plans.Create sustainable development frameworks, which go beyond socio-economic, environmental and institutional sustainability, to also encompass climate change.
• Develop mechanisms of technology transfer internationally and technology development in our nations.
• Develop home-grown policy frameworks that reflect the aspirations, the principles and the positions of Africa’s people, which can be used in the international negotiations, with equity and justice as its pillars.
• Ensure that climate change related policies nationally and internationally are pro-poor people.

On a more detailed level, African governments should negotiate legally binding contributions to the international Adaptation Fund kitty based on current and historical responsibility for climate change and ability to pay. They should advocate for an international levy ‘on all flexible mechanisms’ to be used to raise funds for the Adaptation kitty and to negotiate ways of dealing with the bureaucratic bottlenecks in access to the planned Adaptation Fund. African governments should negotiate for a Special Adaptation Fund for Africa and finalise their national adaptation plans of action (NAPAs) and programmes for implementation.

African governments should ensure that there is equity in geographical distribution of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects and that this is entrenched in the international policy process. They should negotiate for the requirement of up front funding of CDM projects to be waived for many African countries who cannot afford it. The appeal calls upon African countries to embark on the development of CDM capacities and projects including capacity building and development of centers of incubation for CDM projects. African governments should explore possibilities of accessing grants to provide upfront funding for CDM projects and also project development and financing through bilateral arrangements.

Africa must develop good policies relating to land use, land use change and forestry, even as they fight for inclusion of these into the funding mechanisms of the UNFCCC. These areas include: avoided deforestation, afforestation, reforestation, agro-forestry, enhanced natural regeneration, re-vegetation, reduced tillage and sustainable agriculture. Africa must deal with the question of good governance, including development of accountable political systems and elimination of corruption.

The production of this document has been supported by the Forum for Environment, Ethiopia and the Heinrich Boell Foundation (Ethiopia)