23 September 2025 - Earlier this month, CISL Africa held a series of high-level engagements in Nairobi and Addis Ababa aimed at unlocking the climate leadership needed to enable a just and sustainable transition for Africa.
In Nairobi, the CISL Africa team met with some alumni on 3 September before co-convening a high-level Climate Leadership Dialogue on ‘Unlocking Climate Leadership in East Africa: Overcoming Political Economy Barriers to a Just and Sustainable Economic Transition’, in partnership with the British High Commission (Nairobi), on 4 September.
The dialogue brought together policymakers, investors, civil society leaders, and experts to interrogate not only the financial gaps but also the political and institutional barriers that continue to hinder Africa’s climate transition, especially in the areas of adaptation and resilience.
CISL Africa was represented by Prof Richard Calland, Sibusiso Nkomo and Susan Njoroge at the dialogue. A key takeaway from the Nairobi dialogue was that finance alone will not unlock Africa’s transition. Leadership, political ownership, and institutional reform are just as critical.
The outcome paper from the Nairobi dialogue: Unlocking Climate Leadership in East Africa: Overcoming Political Economy Barriers to a Just and Sustainable Economic Transition is available to read here.
The paper was presented four days later at Africa Climate Summit 2 (ACS2) in Addis Ababa, during CISL Africa’s side event on ‘Unlocking Climate Leadership to Overcome Political Economy Barriers to a Just and Sustainable Economic Transition in Africa’.
The Addis roundtable featured contributions from key leaders within the space, including, Professor Carlos Lopes (Special Envoy for Africa, COP30 Brazil).
Why it matters
The Nairobi and Addis dialogues came at a pivotal moment for Africa’s climate agenda with COP 30 on the horizon. By convening diverse voices and setting out practical recommendations, CISL Africa is helping to sharpen Africa’s collective position, while also showing that the continent has both the ambition and the strategy to lead a just and sustainable economic transition.