The Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN), Dr. Nana Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, has called on African countries to strengthen unity and collective action as global multilateralism continues to weaken.
Addressing the first strategic meeting of the AGN under Ghana’s leadership, Dr. Amoah warned that Africa, as one of the region’s most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, cannot afford the erosion of multilateral cooperation.
“With Africa’s well-documented vulnerabilities to climate change, the continent cannot afford to let multilateralism die,” he stated.
Dr. Amoah reaffirmed his commitment to mobilising the broad expertise within the AGN to ensure Africa maintains a strong and coordinated presence in global climate negotiations, despite growing geopolitical and economic pressures.
“The strength and success of the AGN lie in our ability to work together, even under difficult circumstances,” he said. “My chairmanship will harness the collective expertise within the AGN family to project Africa’s interests at a time when the spirit of multilateralism is clearly under strain.”
The strategic meeting, held virtually, marks the first under Ghana’s chairmanship and focused on preparations for the upcoming African Union Summit scheduled to hold from February 11 to 15, 2026, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ahead of in-person engagements leading up to the mid-year UN Climate Conference in June, the meeting was guided by the following objectives:
- Reviewing outcomes and priority issues from COP30 and their implications for continental policy processes;
- Consolidating AGN positions and negotiation priorities to inform strategic engagement during the African Union Summit; and
- Reviewing the AGN Chair’s priority agenda and aligning it with Lead Coordinators and country focal points perspectives.
The African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN) is a technical body of the three-tier African negotiating structure that engages in the technical negotiations during the UN Conferences of the Parties (COPs) and the inter-sessional negotiations on Climate Change. It was established in 1995 with the objective of representing the interests of Africa in the international climate change negotiations, with a common and unified voice.
By Kofi Adu Domfeh