SECAM Calls for “Africa-led, community-rooted and just” Solutions for Climate Crisis

Accra, 08 September, 2025 / 11:27 PM

Members of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) are calling for methods that are African, “community-rooted” and just in addressing climate change manifested in droughts, floods, and cyclones, among others in the world’s second largest continent.

In a statement read out during the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) held at the Addis Ababa International Convention Centre (AICC) in Ethiopia on Sunday, September 7, SECAM members said that climate crisis is both a moral and ecological emergency whose impact is greatly felt in Africa.

“Africa bears disproportionate impacts—droughts, cyclones, floods, desertification—despite contributing least to global emissions,” Africa’s Catholic Bishops say in their statement for the September 7-8 event organized under the theme, “Lighting the way: Renewable Energy and the Dignity of Life.”

In the statement that Bishop Coffi Roger Anoumou of Benin’s Catholic Diocese of Lokossa read out, SECAM members say, “The Catholic Church in Africa calls for bold, fair, and urgent action to ensure that climate solutions are Africa-led, community-rooted, and just.”

On Africa-led climate solutions, the statement indicates, “SECAM insists that Africa must not merely be a recipient of external agendas but a full architect of its ecological future.”

“Rural communities, rich in indigenous wisdom, are laboratories of integral ecology and must shape pathways to sustainable development,” SECAM members say in their statement for the event organized in collaboration with Laudato Si’ Movement in Africa (LSM), and Caritas Africa (CA).

Africa’s Catholic Bishops also advocate for advancing nature and technology-based approaches. They say, “The Church supports renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, and appropriate technologies that protect biodiversity and respect cultural heritage.”

“True solutions must integrate social equity, human dignity, and creation care, not short-term profit or ‘false solutions’ such as harmful offsets or extractive projects,” SECAM members say.

They add that the Church in Africa must move beyond the mentality of appearing to be concerned but failing to bring about substantial change, and continue, “We are still not facing the issues squarely, and the commitments made are weak and hardly fulfilled.”

“We cannot continue to make excuses; what is needed is courage and determination to move away decisively from fossil fuels, to embrace renewable sources of energy, and to make genuine lifestyle changes for the sake of our common home,” Africa’s Catholic Bishops say.

In the three-page statement, SECAM members further advocate for the scaling up of renewable energy.

“SECAM urges investment in decentralized, community-driven renewable systems—especially solar—creating decent jobs, empowering women and youth, and reducing energy poverty while curbing carbon emissions,” they say.

They advocate for clean energy on the continent, saying, “The future is this renewable energy, namely, solar panels. It is crucial to invest in clean energy and upgrade infrastructure to address Africa’s energy poverty.”

SECAM members also call for the mobilization of climate finance in a just manner, saying, “The Church calls on wealthy nations to repay their ecological debt through transparent, accessible, and non-indebted climate finance.”

“Loss and Damage and Adaptation Funds must be swiftly operationalized, reaching vulnerable communities directly and fostering resilience rather than dependency,” they say.

As Catholic communities in Africa, SECAM members say, “we ask the leaders of nations and institutions to recognize their moral duty and commit to urgent and ambitious action to protect our common home and the most vulnerable.”

Africa’s Catholic Bishops lament that delay and half-measures in protecting the common home only deepen the suffering of the people on the continent and jeopardize future generations.

“A deal must include finance for loss and damage, which is compensation for countries that are already suffering the devastating impacts of climate change but are not responsible for causing it,” they appeal, and add, “This is a matter of justice and solidarity with the poorest and most affected communities.”

In the statement, SECAM members also call for adaptation efforts to “safeguard food security, water systems, and livelihoods, prioritizing the poor and marginalized. Faith communities stand ready to collaborate in educating, mobilizing, and accompanying affected populations.”

“The loss and damage fund must be urgently operationalized to respond to the devastating impacts of climate change that are already destroying lives and livelihoods,” SECAM members reiterate.

They add, “Rich countries ought to recognize and pay their ecological debt to the Global South, without continuing to indebt our nations through loans disguised as climate aid.”

“The earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor,” Africa’s Catholic Bishops lament.

As a way forward, they appeal, “We must stop the expansion of fossil fuels and instead expand clean, renewable energy solutions that empower our communities, respect our cultures, and protect our common home.”