Anita Soina, a Kenyan climate activist with over 100,000 Instagram followers, is widely seen as one of Africa’s most promising environmental voices. A 26-year-old member of the Maasai community, she traveled to Belém in northern Brazil for COP30, the UN climate conference.
Soina says she has witnessed how deforestation drives drought, hunger and water scarcity in Kenya. For her, COP30 carries special meaning. “I think this event will be one of the biggest wins for the Global South,” she told DW. “When we are here, listening to the COP president or Brazil’s president, you can feel that something truly promising is happening.” Her optimism is cautious: “We have had many promises before, and at the end of the day, the crisis continues getting worse. The biggest barrier in Africa is the lack of political will. That is why most resources are not used for the purposes they were intended.”
Representing Zambia, Maurice K. Nyambe, executive director of the graft monitor Transparency International, also traveled to the Amazon for COP30. He hopes the summit will deliver not only new pledges but mechanisms to ensure accountability. “Whether we talk about climate finance or carbon trading, it is important to include transparency [and] accountability in all those discussions,” he said. “We have high expectations for COP30.”
What’s at stake at COP30?
The annual climate conference is the “Conference of the Parties” to the 1992 UN climate treaty, the UNFCCC, through which nations agreed to cooperate on climate action. For the first time, this global gathering is being held on the edge of the Amazon rainforest. COP30 will review the 2015 Paris Agreement, assessing progress on emissions targets and on climate finance for Global South countries — commitments that remain largely unfulfilled, especially in Africa.
The continent is among the most vulnerable to climate change: droughts, floods and loss of farmland already threaten millions of livelihoods and food security. That vulnerability is why young African activists have become increasingly vocal in international climate debates, demanding climate justice and tangible action from wealthy nations. The Paris Agreement united nearly 200 countries in a pledge to limit warming to well below 2 °C and to pursue efforts to cap the rise at 1.5 °C.
Voices from the frontlines
The opening session of COP30 saw Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva call for a firm stand against climate-change deniers. “Climate change is no longer a threat looming in the future — it is a tragedy unfolding in the present,” he said as ministers discussed how the crisis is already devastating the world’s most vulnerable populations.
Hilda Nakabuye, a prominent Ugandan activist and member of Fridays for Future Uganda attending her fifth COP, said COP30 is special because it marks 10 years of the Paris Agreement. Her work focuses on youth and women in Uganda and opposes the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), a planned 1,400-kilometer heated pipeline backed by TotalEnergies and China National Offshore Oil Corporation. The route cuts through sensitive areas such as Murchison Falls National Park and skirts Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest freshwater lake; environmentalists warn of irreversible damage to biodiversity and water sources relied on by more than 40 million people. “As a young … woman from Africa, I am here to raise my voice and represent the communities affected by a crisis they did not create,” she said. “We ask for a fair and just energy transition. I expect leaders here at COP30 to put people’s voices — especially those of marginalized communities — at the center of their decisions.”
Engaging communities
Soina and Nakabuye agree that empowering local communities to understand their rights is essential. The best strategy, Soina said, is to engage communities not only in addressing climate change but also in broader community development.
Simon Peter Longoli of Uganda took part in an opening-day event on how local communities can engage more effectively in the UNFCCC process. He works with pastoralist groups and says thousands of herders have been devastated by recurring droughts. At COP30, pastoralists are now formally recognized within the UN framework as part of the so-called “local communities,” and Longoli hopes that recognition will be formalized. “What we have achieved here today is another milestone,” he said. “We expect that tomorrow it can be formalized — that indigenous people called ‘caucus’, as their local communities, can participate in the process related to climate change in the UNFCCC.” He warned that time is running out and stressed that COP must deliver implementable results.
Global South solidarity
African youth say they hope to see real climate finance commitments and genuine participation in decision-making at COP30. Their shared message is that climate justice must move beyond rhetoric and translate into resources for those living on the frontlines. They also call for deeper cooperation among Global South nations — from the Amazon to Africa — to confront the crisis together. For these young activists, being in Belém is more than symbolic: it is a demand for action.
Edited by: Keith Walker
