President Macky Sall's candidacy for the office of UN Secretary-General ties climate to peace. In the Sahel, arable land retreats, water points grow scarce, and competition for what remains feeds conflicts later described as ethnic or religious. Climate disruption bears on the security of whole regions as much as on their harvests.
Climate displaces before it kills. Droughts and floods drive people off their land well before a weapon is fired. Those movements strain host areas, feed trafficking, and offer armed groups a pool of recruits with no other prospect. Preventing these ruptures costs less than managing the crises they set off.
Africa pays a bill it did not sign. The continent emits a tiny share of greenhouse gases and bears a major share of the disruption. Climate justice comes down to one plain requirement: the adaptation finance that was promised must be paid, at the level of real needs, and not counted twice.
A right to energy, a transition that starts from reality. Hundreds of millions of Africans live without reliable access to electricity. A transition that asked them to give up development, for emissions they are not responsible for, would not hold. President Macky Sall argues for a transition that finances access to energy in the same movement that decarbonizes it.
Carrying the question to where it is decided. The Secretariat does not sign climate agreements, but it places the subject on the agenda of peace, documents the link between climate and conflict, and reminds donors of the commitments they made. A steady voice is worth more than one successful summit every five years.
Experience in multilateral negotiation. Twelve years as head of state and the chairmanship of the African Union in 2022 underpin these commitments. That experience explains why the vision statement filed with the United Nations frames its proposals as obligations: peace, security and development conceived together; a renewed multilateralism; stronger governance of the Organization.
Africa at its heart, the world in its sights.
The IPCC reports and the climate finance pledges are public. Read all public positions at www.mackysall.net