New York, September 22-24, 2024 – The Global People’s Assembly 2024 commenced at the UN Church Center, bringing together representatives from marginalized communities and civil society to discuss pressing global justice issues. Among the 29 co-organizers of the event, the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) played a pivotal role in highlighting the urgent need for increased climate finance.
During a session titled “Pay UP Trillions not Millions for Climate Finance,” Dr. Augustine Njamnshi, Chair of PACJA’s Political and Technical Committee, underscored the stark contrast between current climate finance pledges and the funding actually needed to combat climate change. He emphasized that the adverse effects of climate change are acutely felt in Africa, necessitating a significant shift in funding from millions to trillions.
Dr. Mithika Mwenda, Executive Director of PACJA, reinforced this message in his opening remarks, asserting that financing for climate damage and mitigation efforts is both a moral and legal obligation. “Paying for the damage of climate change is reparation—a moral and legal obligation, an imperative of climate justice,” he stated. Mwenda called on polluters to take responsibility for the loss and damage they have caused through extreme weather events, droughts, and rising sea levels that disproportionately impact the Global South.
The session, co-organized by PACJA, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, and Bread for the World, also explored existing mechanisms for holding polluters accountable. Mwenda pointed out that international legal frameworks, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), already provide avenues for accountability, yet are often undermined by corporate interests.
As the Global People’s Assembly prepares to amplify these urgent calls at the Summit of the Future and the UN General Assembly, it aims to address critical issues such as climate action, debt, taxation, financing for development, gender equality, and social justice.
The collective voices at this year’s assembly are poised to push for concrete actions that align financial commitments with the scale of the climate crisis, demanding that those responsible for environmental degradation step up to support vulnerable communities worldwide.