As the 20th African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN20) comes to an end, climate justice groups and movements are celebrating African governments continued leadership in rejecting dangerous solar geoengineering technologies.
These schemes are being pushed on the African continent and globally- but African Ministers sent a powerful message to the world at AMCEN20 that solar geoengineering has no place as a climate solution and must be rejected permanently. The decision on Africa’s Engagement in the 7th UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) states:
“We reiterate our position that such technologies pose significant and uncertain environmental, ethical and geopolitical risks, and must not be considered as viable options within the multilateral environmental agenda.”
AMCEN20 decisions highlighted the inherent risks Solar Geoengineering poses to the environment and peoples, and explicitly calls for “the establishment of a solar geoengineering non-use agreement”, which would ban any efforts to normalise these technologies. The decision states:
:We would like to reaffirm our full rejection of any attempt to promote Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAl) or other forms of solar geoengineering Technology as a climate change mitigation solution.”
The African countries also called for a United Nations General Assembly resolution to advance this further. These positions are articulated in the Tripoli Declaration and Decision 9 on Engagement of Africa in UNEA7. These decisions build on AMCEN19/5 where African Ministers collectively called for a global governance mechanism for the non-use of solar radiation modification, and follows strong leadership from the African group at UNEA-6 in preventing a resolution going forward that could have legitimised these dangerous technologies.
The decisions at AMCEN20 are hugely significant, sending a clear signal to the international community towards rejection of solar geoengineering and exposing the forces that are trying to make these dangerous technologies appear like an option.
Across the continent, African communities are already advancing real climate solutions rooted in climate justice – from agroecology and renewable energy to ecosystem restoration and community-led adaptation.
Barbara Ntambirweki, Researcher & Senior Campaigner, ETC Group, said: “This is a major victory for Africa! We commend AMCEN for its courageous and decisive stance in rejecting solar geoengineering as a climate solution. This achievement marks an important milestone in tackling the climate crisis without turning to risky and unproven technologies. Real solutions are grounded in ecosystem restoration and community-led adaptation efforts. AMCEN decision sends a clear message to the world: our continent is not a testing ground for dangerous, untested technological experiments.”
Kenneth Nana Amoateng, Executive Director, AbibiNsroma Foundation, Ghana, said: “Just transitions need to ensure no dangerous technologies are advanced and deployed in the name of climate action. This includes geoengineering, and particularly solar radiation modification (SRM). We recognise the inherent and existential risks of SRM, and the impossibility to govern deployment of the technology in a fair and lasting manner. We hence strongly support the call for a global governance mechanism for non-use of solar radiation modification by all African Ministers at the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) 2023 and expect further African leadership towards the establishment of such an International Solar Geoengineering Non-Use Agreement.”
Amos Nkpeebo, FIDEP Foundation, Ghana, said: “As African youth, we stand firmly behind AMCEN’s call for a global non-use agreement on solar geoengineering. Our futures must not be further endangered by more pollution. African youth, from Ghana to South Africa, are rising together to say we will use this AMCEN@40 decision to demand accelerated investment in real, proven solutions. We call on African leaders to scale up community-owned solar power, agroecology and community-driven resilience strategies that protect our future.”
Dr. Mfoniso Xael, Programmes Manager, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Nigeria, said: “We applaud AMCEN for taking a bold and unwavering stand against geoengineering at its 20th ordinary session. By rejecting dangerous schemes like Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) and Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI), African environment ministers are defending the continent’s people, ecosystems, and future from risky, unproven climate manipulation.
“This is a clear message: Africa will not be a testing ground for high-stakes technological gambles pushed by powerful interests. This leadership is not just for Africa, it’s a global wake-up call. AMCEN is drawing a red line where others hesitate, reminding the world that real climate action means cutting emissions, not playing god with the sky. Africa is standing up for climate justice, and the world should follow.:
Josué Arun, Executive Director of Congo Basin Conservation Society CBCS-Network DRC, said: “African civil society expresses its gratitude to our African governments for their collaboration and for listening to the voices of the oppressed people by colonialists on the current and future threats linked to the use of dangerous technologies to fight climate change such as geoengineering. African civil society remains convinced that the only real way to combat climate change is to provide financial support for the protection and restoration of forests through community-based solutions such as agroecology.
“The funding mechanism must be flexible and accessible to civil society and indigenous peoples and must coincide with national and local priorities and not be based on the transfer of dangerous technologies such as Solar Radiation Management (SRM). Rich countries must support this funding mechanism, which can most effectively benefit forests and forest communities, in particular indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), the local scientific community and other stakeholders on the ground, whose commitment is essential for effective forest protection and climate actions. We will continue to fight until the use of these dangerous technologies is completely cancelled in Africa.”
Kwami Kpondzo, Director Centre pour la Justice Environnementale, Togo, said: “The climate crisis continues to open our eyes on the importance of our choices in terms of solutions. People centred solutions with the respect of human rights and people’s dignity need to continue prevailing. Geoengineering is a false solution! The outcome of AMCEN on the Non Use Agreement is reassuring us that peoples before profit is the way to go amidst climate change.”
Gideon Akoto, Project Coordinator, Friends of the Earth Ghana /FoE Africa, said: “We commend African ministers at AMCEN20 for taking a bold and united stance in rejecting solar geoengineering and Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI). These false solutions are a dangerous distraction from the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels, support community-led adaptation, and promote just and equitable climate solutions. Africa must not become a testing ground for risky technologies that threaten our ecosystems, sovereignty, and future. We reaffirm our call for a global non-use agreement and echo the ministers’ demand for a UN resolution to protect Africa and the world from the harms of geoengineering.”
Dean Bhekumuzi, Just Transitions Lead at Power Shift Africa, noted: “Solar Radiation is a dangerous and short-sighted ambition. African Ministers have exposed a critical misalignment between geoengineering and the real needs of climate vulnerable nations. This decision is not just a refusal of false solutions but should serve as a signal to other global leaders, that the path forward is not in atmospheric manipulation, but in confronting the root causes of the climate collapse and investing in equitable, lasting solutions. Africa is showing that principled leadership is possible and necessary in the face of the ongoing climate crisis.”