This year has been a monumental one in the five-year history of the African Climate Alliance. If we could sum up the year in one word it would be: movement-building. As we wind down toward our annual organisational break before diving into 2025, here’s a brief look at what we have been up to in October, November, and December.

In a landmark ruling, the High Court of South Africa has overturned the government’s plans to add 1,500 MW of new coal-fired power to the national grid, saying they are “unlawful and invalid.”

 In a powerful call to action, children and youth across South Africa are urging the government to advocate for their climate rights at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). As the ICJ prepares to issue an advisory opinion on states’ obligations in respect of climate change under international law, young South Africans are demanding that their voices be heard and their rights protected.

The journey of an ACA Ambassador is not over after our one-year Ambassador Programme. After graduating from the programme, we aim to continue our support for each Ambassador’s change-making initiatives with our Opportunity Fund. This Fund is intended to support the sustainability and ongoing efforts of ACA Ambassadors.

The third quarter of 2024 kept us on our feet with many movement-building moments, workshops, and our annual Cape Town Climate Week. As we prepare for the final quarter of 2024, here’s a brief look at what we have been up to in July, August, and September.

Aksanti Bienfait is a Congolese refugee artivist, based in Uganda, and the founder of Just Paint, a community driven initiative that operates within a refugee camp. His work revolves around using art as a tool for personal development, emotional healing, and social unity.

After three years of litigation, youth activists got their day in the Pretoria High Court on 9 and 10 October in a landmark case against the government to stop building any new coal plants.

After five days of solutions-focussed events across the city, the third annual Cape Town Climate Week has come to a close, but imaginations and dreams for a more just city are only just beginning.

There are so many different ways to care for people and the planet. This is the message behind Cape Town Climate Week 2024, a week-long event lineup of grassroots solutions to some of the most pressing issues of our time, set to take place from 23 to 28 September 2024.

Access to safe and clean water is a basic human right and critical for individual survival and societies. Yet, in Africa, more than  25% of the population spends about six hours walking in order to get enough water for a day — sometimes unclean water — which causes serious health problems and reinforces cycles of poverty. 

Nonhlanhla Ncaweni is a South African changemaker who was one of our 2022 ACA Ambassadors. Based in Katlehong, Gauteng, Nonhlanhla’s socio-environmental activism is motivated by spatial inequality and the uneven distribution of green spaces in low income communities.

The second quarter of 2024 followed suit from the first with many milestones and a fully packed calendar of events, workshops, and new projects. As we prepare for the second half of 2024, here’s a brief look at what we have been up to in April, May, and June.

As a global community, on World Environment Day, we are reflecting on our planet's precious resources, and the need for land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience. This is a particularly critical issue currently gripping the African continent.

The first-ever Cape Town Climate Concert isn't just about music; it's a rallying cry for a better future. Building on the long South African history of the connection between song and social change, the Cape Town Climate Concert aims to bring together people living in Cape Town and surrounds.

The past financial year has seen many impactful highlights across our four key programmes — education, advocacy, action, and ambassadors. Our 2023-2024 annual report includes an overview of our programmatic work, how we work, a financial overview, and a look at our board and team.

To dismantle systems of oppression, we need to imagine our alternatives. We need to articulate the futures we dream of. This is why we are asking young people, from across Africa, to share what #TheFutureIs to them from 6 May to 28 June 2024.

The first quarter of the new year has been a busy and fulfilling season at ACA. We hit the ground running when the team returned from our annual organisational break in mid-January and it’s been go-go-go ever since – with many milestones along the way.

On the 21st of March 2024, in Cape Town, civil society from different sectors, organisations, and communities across the city came together for a mass action to call for deep systemic change. The action had received a permit from the City of Cape Town (CoCT) for 2500 people to march and gather. In issuing the permit, the CoCT confirmed that sufficient police, law enforcement, and traffic officers would be present to ensure the safety of all involved with the action. Unfortunately this proved not to be the case.

Youth, civil society, and concerned citizens are gearing up for the next March for System Change, scheduled for Thursday, March 21, 2024.

Dayanca Pather is one of our current 2023/2024 ACA Ambassadors, based in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. She strongly believes that we cannot achieve climate justice without social justice.