ABOUT PACJA
Founded in 2008, in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) has emerged as the most vibrant and largest Civil Society platform in climate change and sustainable development, with a membership of over 1,000 organizations and networks.
The journey started when a group of CSOs came together at a workshop and were concerned by the complete absence of the African civil society voice in the international climate change dialogue processes. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and Oxfam International organised the workshop to facilitate dialogue among African Civil Society Organizations to explore ways of working together to create an impact on the post-2012 discussions on Climate change. This journey towards a unified African civil society, was the subsequent birth of Pan African Climate Justice Alliance.
At the sidelines of the 12th Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Johannesburg, an opportunity emerged for the African Civil Society to engage with key policy makers in their governments. After the workshop, participants joined delegates at the AMCEN conference with a unified agenda and recognition of the need to proactively engage key policymakers on climate change.
PACJA spearheaded the African Civil Society meetings at the sidelines of subsequent AMCEN consultations, thus making it a regular component of every process guided by these important environmental stakeholder in Africa.
At the first substantive and properly constituted meeting for climate change in Africa, with representatives from all sub-regions and sectors, a proposal by a section of participants to name the network was deferred through consensus to allow Civil Society Organisations present to consult, bond together and engage more actors in the process. Participants felt that an effective civil society network could only be possible through a genuinely consultative and all-inclusive process, which cultivates the ownership of communities.
On August 19-20, 2008, another meeting for the African CSOs working on climate change and sustainable development was facilitated by a coalition of international Non-governmental Organizations, genuinely concerned about the low level of African CSOs’ participation in the UNFCCC process. The coalition – an association of 17 Development and Humanitarian Aid Organizations in Europe related to the World Council of Churches known as APRODEV, brought together Christian Aid, Norwegian Church Aid, Diakonia and Finn Church Aid among others, worked with the small team elected in Johannesburg to broaden the participation and ensure that elements lacking in the previous consultation meeting were included.
The African Civil Society Climate Justice Strategy Meeting – organized on the sidelines of the Accra UNFCCC Climate change talks, not only endorsed the South African initiative, but also moved further to finish part of the unaccomplished business initiated in Johannesburg by unanimously declaring the name of the network as the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA). Cognizant of the task ahead and the flight of time on the countdown to Copenhagen, the participants agreed on a plan of action that would eventually ensure that African civil society was effectively facilitated to actively participate in the Bali Roadmap. The five-member Steering Committee established in Johannesburg was expanded to address the gaping gender and regional inequality and accorded the mandate to implement the Post Accra Climate Action Plan for the Bali Roadmap.
PACJA brings together Faith-based Organizations, Community-based organizations, Non-Governmental organizations, Trusts, Foundations, Farmers and Pastoralist Groups into the alliance.
OUR ENGAGEMENTS WITH UNFCCC AND COPs PROCESSES
Our history began in 2008, when PACJA was established in South Africa. From then on, we continuously engaged in UNFCCC processes and submitted inputs on climate finance and related negotiations. For instance, in 2016, PACJA had a submission to the 2016 Standing Committee on Finance Forum. Read our submission here.
Our journey has been unstoppable. Henceforth. In 2022 at COP27, we clearly documented and actively presented. Our representatives were actively featured in various convenings, press conferences, Climate Justice Torch campaigns, and engagements with UNFCCC and the African Group of Negotiators.
There was no pause. In 2023, our COP engagement was extensive in Dubai, where we held a pre-COP28 preparatory workshop where we issued a communiqué. We were engaged in various activities advocating for emerging issues from the communities on the frontline of Climate Change, while parties were busy taking stock of the years of implementation of NDCs.
Our journey went on in Baku, Azerbaijan, for COP29 and in Brazil at COP30.
What we can confidently say
Since its establishment in 2008, PACJA has engaged with UNFCCC climate negotiations and COP processes, representing and amplifying African Climate Civil society Perspectives. Beyond, COP Processes, you can read our decade achievement as Pan African Climate Justice Alliance. Here you will learn more about our work and achievements.We believe that our voice has been able to be understood and shape conversations around climate conversations
In 2018, PACJA issued a submission to UNFCCC on the Financial instruments that address the risks of loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate, in the context of Action Area 7 of the workplan of the Executive Committee . Read our submission here
In 2023, we submitted our inputs to the UNFCCC on Doubling Adaptation Finance PACJA. In this document, we issued recommendations and inputs to the draft recommendations outline of the report from the Standing Committee on Finance on the doubling of adaptation finance. Read our submission here.