Abstract

This article examines issues and concerns around climate change in the renewed United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) partnership. It establishes its theoretical foundation on the rapport between complex interdependence and political ecology. At another level, it relies on data from a range of purposely selected secondary sources as reference points. It argues the case for deeper cooperation in the area of climate change between the two multilateral partners, which is long overdue and of strategic importance to the global (multilateral) climate action. It raises some concerns which if not addressed could potentially limit the capabilities of the UN and the AU to jointly work together in tackling climate change. These include lack of a common position and unified approach, misaligned agenda, and a general mistrust of the UN as a “big-brother” supranational authority and, therefore, a higher-ranking partner in the UN-AU multilateral arrangement. Aside from providing an insight into the climate change issues in the renewed partnership involving the UN and the AU, the article underscores the need for a more dedicated approach and regional inputs/buy-in as an important strategy to facilitate effective, mutually beneficial, and sustainable solutions to Africa’s climate change challenges. It calls for a review of the AU-UN Framework on Implementation of Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030 such that more focus is given to climate change.