TheCable

The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) in Africa, says it has received support from the Swedish government to launch a three-year project to scale up climate action in 12 countries, Nigeria inclusive.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, PACJA said the project, tagged ‘Guard-Africa Initiative’, aims to unify Africa’s action in developing and building the resilience of vulnerable communities in the era of the pandemic.

It stated that the project will help in accelerating the implementation of the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and help Africa transit to a just, low carbon economy.

“The Guard-Africa Initiative, galvanising and unifying Africa’s action for resilient development in the era of the pandemic, will catalyse conversations towards the accelerating implementation of the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and overall climate action,” the statement reads.

“Implemented by PACJA and funded by the Swedish government through Sida, the project is designed to mobilise, consolidate and unify efforts of civil society, other non-state actors (NSAs), and governments, recognizing that mainstreaming more inclusive practices now, will be influential for decades to come.”

Mithika Mwenda, executive director of PACJA, said: “We are grateful to the government of Sweden for coming to support advocacy work around climate justice. This a clear testimony of confidence the government of Sweden has on Africa’s CSO and the desire to see Africa transit to a just, low carbon economy.

“Sweden is putting money where their heart is and the people of Africa will forever remain grateful to these efforts.”

The countries expected to benefit from the project are Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Niger, Cameroon, Zambia, Botswana, Morocco, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Gabon.