African countries propose a "Nairobi declaration" for a global carbon tax and debt relief

African countries have called for a global carbon tax, debt relief, and reforms of the international financial system to support climate action on the continent and worldwide. The declaration will underpin Africa's common position in negotiations at this year's UN Cop 28 climate conference and beyond.

The summit's outcome marks a significant departure from many African leaders' previous rhetoric, which was that Africa would chart its own "just energy transition" while continuing to exploit its domestic oil and gas resources without being dictated to by industrialized nations. Instead, it reframes the African continent, with its abundant clean energy minerals and renewable energy resources, as the solution to climate change and not just a victim.

African leaders urge world leaders to rally behind the proposal for a global carbon taxation regime, including a carbon tax on fossil fuel trade, maritime transport, and aviation. This could be supplemented by a global financial transaction tax (FTT) to provide dedicated finance for climate-positive investments, which should be ringfenced from geopolitical and national interests.

African leaders also call for a new financing architecture responsive to Africa's needs and collective global action to mobilize the necessary capital for both development and climate action. They suggest a new Global Climate Finance Charter should be developed through UN General Assembly and Cop processes by 2025.

African leaders also want global and regional trade mechanisms to be designed in such a manner that African products can compete on fair and equitable terms. They commit to limiting their own emissions and aiding global decarbonisation efforts by leapfrogging traditional industrial development and fostering green production and supply chains on a global scale.