Strengthening capacity and leadership of global partners at UN Regional Climate Weeks
KAIROS’ global partners will participate in the UN Regional Climate Weeks this fall! KAIROS secured a grant from the Ontario Public Sector Employees Union (OPSEU) to support global partners who are eager to strengthen their capacity and leadership in climate negotiations and strategies related to their local and regional environments.
Specifically, their participation in these Weeks will help them strengthen their regional climate mitigation and adaptation strategies, advocacy on climate justice, and solidarity.
Coming out of COP27, members of the joint KAIROS / For the Love of Creation delegation emphasized the urgency to focus on the needs and solutions of communities most impacted by the climate crisis.
The Regional Climate Weeks will help regional partners identify what works for them, and to prepare for COP28 in Dubai, including building strategies for the implementation of a Loss & Damage Fund and more.
Between September and November 2023, regional climate weeks will take place in four regions:
- September 4-8 – Africa Climate Week (ACW 2023) and Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.
- October 9-12 – Middle East and North Africa Climate Week (MENACW 2023), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- October 23-27 – Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week (LACCW 2023), Panama City, Panama.
- November 13-17 – Asia-Pacific Climate Week (APCW 2023), Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
On September 4 and 5, during Africa Climate Week, KAIROS co-sponsored a hybrid sideline event and in person side event as part of the Africa Climate Summit titled, Gender-Responsive Approach to Climate Action and Conflict Transformation in Building Climate Resilience in Africa. The event was hosted by the Africa Centre for Sustainable and Inclusive Development (Africa CSID) and African Council of Religious Leaders – Religions for Peace (ACRL-RfP). KAIROS staff and Noble Wadzah from OilWatch Africa – a global partner and COP27 delegate – participated.
Noble and Juan Rachael Michael Roberto from the South Sudan Council of Churches National Women’s Programme were also able to participate in other events and meetings during Africa Climate Week.
This is not the first time that OPSEU financially supported KAIROS’ global partners. Thanks in part to OPSEU, KAIROS and For the Love of Creation (FLC) sent women peacebuilders and Indigenous partners and youth from Canada and the Global South to the UN Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP27) which took place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt between November 8-18, 2022. The objective of the delegation was to bring the voices of Global South peace and land defenders, women, Indigenous people and youth to decision-making tables about the climate emergency – centering the perspectives and recommendations of those who are most impacted, least responsible and whose critical, innovative and effective solutions can no longer be ignored.
This additional support from OPSEU represents an opportunity to continue to listen to and amplify the voices of the delegates by supporting them in their communities in the lead up to COP28.
Follow the KAIROS blog this fall for dispatches and articles from global partners as they participate in the UN Regional Climate Weeks.
