African Symposium on Climate Reparations

Climate change is not only an environmental crisis; it is one of the defining justice issues of our time. African and Afro-descendant communities across the globe face the most severe consequences of a crisis they did not create: rising seas swallowing coastlines, extreme weather events such as cyclones and floods, cascading biodiversity loss, prolonged droughts, and forced displacement.

Despite contributing the least to global warming – the African continent contributes less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions – these communities shoulder a disproportionate burden of climate harm. The emerging discourse on climate reparations moves decisively beyond charity or technical assistance. It demands accountability, systemic equity, and genuine repair and transformation for people, cultures, and ecosystems alike.

Landmark legal developments are reshaping the normative landscape. The International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion (ICJAO) and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) advisory opinion have clarified States' obligations to protect communities, ecosystems, and future generations from the adverse effects of climate change. Simultaneously, the African Union Decade of Reparations (2026–2036) and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework signal a rare political moment in which reparative justice frameworks can gain meaningful traction.

This symposium is convened at a critical juncture, with five years to the 2030 deadline for multiple global agendas and ahead of COP31 and COP32. It will serve as a deliberative space to build shared analysis, advance policy recommendations, and to strategize and forge alliances across the climate justice, reparations, and biodiversity communities, centering the voices of youth, women and indigenous communities in Africa and the Afro-descendant diaspora.

We will share more details on the event soon.