The 3rd African Parliamentarians’ Summit on Climate Policy and Equity opened on Tuesday in Johannesburg, on the sidelines of the second ordinary session of the sixth legislature of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP).
The meeting, organized in collaboration with the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), provides a platform for parliamentarians, government officials, experts, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to share ideas, exchange best practices, and explore ways to tackle the urgent challenges of climate change.
The ultimate goal of this event is to bring together stakeholders from across the continent to support fair, equitable, locally driven, and science-based decisions on climate action.
The high-level conclave will also identify the role of parliamentarians in advancing the climate cause and identify a common African agenda in the global stocktaking process (GST) in light of the upcoming COP28 climate summit.
In this context, the Senate President of Kenya, Amason Jeffah Kingi said Africa should seize the opportunities to promote carbon offsetting as a continent with low carbon emissions compared to industrialized countries.
The Pan-African Parliament is a consultative assembly of the African Union that brings together MPs from African Union member countries. It was established in 2004 and each member state is represented in the PAP by five parliamentarians from the majority and the opposition, including at least one woman.