SurgeX Media, Climate Justice Advocates Lead Conversation in Africa Through Climate Litigation Lab
Surge X Media in collaboration with prominent climate change and climate justice organisations convened climate change leaders and advocates, legal experts, and campaigners in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a critical summit on Climate Litigation & Strategic Campaigning: Advocacy & Movement Narratives to address vital issues surrounding climate justice on the continent.
The three day intensive summit, held from February 15 - 17 2024, gathered practitioners to critically examine some of the factors that affect movement building, campaigning and narrative change in the climate justice space through shared experiences, strategic exchange and agenda setting on what the future should be in Africa.
The event, which was organised by SurgeX in partnership with leading organisations like Oil Change International, Christian Aid, OilWatch Africa, PowerShift Africa, HOMEF, and Climate Defense, centered around three key themes; Climate Litigation, Diplomacy and Campaigning to empower African voices and strategies in the fight for climate justice.
In its aim to foster climate justice development, the summit explored how litigation can protect human rights and environmental rights, hold polluters accountable, and bridge the gaps in local and international climate action. Landmark cases on destructive extraction, pollution, and corruption were analyzed during the litigation session, spotlighting the intricacies and potential of climate litigation in Africa.
The summit also underscored, in its Diplomacy session, the necessity for strategic diplomacy to level the playing field where actors can sit at a table to devise governance and political change at an institutional level. Participants brainstormed on how to navigate multilateral institutions, leverage strategic periods for impactful action, and push for stronger climate commitments from governments.
Noting that strategic campaigning is vital to address decarbonisation and and promote justice in resource-rich communities in Africa, participants learned how to craft holistic campaign strategies aimed at International Oil Companies (IOCs) and holding them accountable, confronting issues such as corruption, displacement, pollution, and human rights violations.
Many participants at the Climate Litigation Lab called it a fertile ground for combined learning and development of potential solutions for climate justice in Africa and globally. Nomasango Masiye Moyo, Coordinator of Environmental Lawyers Collective for Africa (ELCA) remarked, “The Climate Litigation Lab provided a unique platform for sharing continental and global insights and experiences, fostering a solutions-based approach towards climate justice.”
James Gondi, Africa High Level Coordinator for Stop Ecocide International, noted, "The Climate Litigation Lab united diverse voices concerned about climate injustice. We explored legal avenues, social mobilisation methods, and impactful storytelling. This interdisciplinary approach is key to building a powerful force for change.”
By bringing together diverse voices and expertise, collaborative strategies, knowledge sharing, and strategic storytelling, the Climate Litigation Lab served as an avenue to further strengthen the environmental justice movement in Africa and beyond, and forge new and insteemable partnerships in this regard.
About Surge X Media
Surge X Media, an initiative of Surge Africa Organisation, collaborates with media entities, activists, and movements utilizing impact storytelling, strategic communications and movements to frame inclusive narratives that places frontline defenders’ voices at the forefront of climate action.
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Abiodun Salako
Communications Associate, Surge Africa
[abiodun@surgeafrica.org]