As the effects of climate change continue to escalate—pushing global temperatures beyond safe limits—West African nations are feeling the pressure more than ever. Coastal countries like Ivory Coast are particularly vulnerable, facing rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and disrupted livelihoods. In response to this growing crisis, AGNES (African Group of Negotiators Experts Support) is stepping up efforts in strengthening climate governance in West Africa and across the continent. As part of its flagship program focused on empowering African Parliaments on climate change, an AGNES delegation visited Ivory Coast from March 13th to 14th, 2024.
The mission, led by Dr. George Wamukoya OGW and supported by team members Leon Mulama and Grace Kaimburi, aimed to build the capacity of Ivorian Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff. The goal? To enhance their oversight role in national climate action and equip them with practical tools to drive effective climate legislation. During the visit, the AGNES team introduced two key instruments: the Model Climate Change Law, designed to guide the development of comprehensive climate policies, and the Climate Monitoring and Accountability Tool (CMAT), which supports transparency and accountability in climate action.
AGNES’ mission: A step towards strengthening climate oversight in Ivory Coast
The Model Climate Change Law
The Model Climate Change Law presented to the Ivorian Parliament, was co-created by the AGNES and Partners alongside Parliamentarians and Parliamentary Staff. MCCL came into existence after Parliamentarians, through the regional meetings that led to the formation of the ANPCC, requested for the development of a framework that can guide in the development and enacting of their climate change legislation. Additionally, the development and co-creation of the Model Law became apparent with the fact that less than ten African countries have standalone climate change legislation which inevitably lowered the capacity of African Parliaments to effectively perform their representation and oversight roles in relation to climate change issues. Therefore, countries like Côte d’Ivoire will largely benefit from the MCCL.
The Climate Oversight tool: Climate Monitoring and Accountability Tool (CMAT)
A revolutionary tool co-created by AGNES and respective African parliaments, the Climate Monitoring and Accountability Tool (CMAT) designed to support oversight, was also presented to the Ivorian parliamentarians during the visit. The CMAT is a digital tool that integrates GIS for desk-oversight by Parliamentarians. The tool also has budget analysis capabilities to ease the tracking, oversight and accountability of climate finance, and the alignment with the Model Climate Change Law. Additionally, it has an AI chat function that responds to climate change inquiries by users.
Nigeria, being the first country to have the tailored version of CMAT, their tool was demonstrated to the Ivorian parliamentarians and the parliamentary staff. Upon agreement, the AGNES team and the Parliamentary Staff cocreated the first version Ivory Coast CMAT which was presented to the parliamentarians for feedback that would aid further tailoring and refinement of the tool to effectively meet their unique needs.
Côte d’Ivoire as a Francophone Trailblazer of CMAT
Following the keen interest from Parliament in the CMAT, and strong AGNES support, Côte d’Ivoire is going to become the first Francophone country to adopt the tool. This then, sets the stage for a multilingual rollout of the CMAT across Africa. Up next is the refinement of second version of CMAT and receiving feedback on the same for the development of the third version that has an improved French language interface The presentation of the final version of CMAT and final hand over to the Ivorian Parliamentary ICT team is set to happen in April 2025.
Conclusion
The AGNES visit to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, goes beyond being a technical mission, it affirms the power of digital technology in Africa’s Climate oversight and Leadership as well as partnering as African countries to have a uniform framework (MCCL) that guides oversight activities and roles. As Parliaments strive to deal with the climate change challenge, the AGNES CMAT and the model law come in handy in ensuring accountability, inclusivity, and impact. Through the visit, Côte d’Ivoire’s is set to engage more in the Africa Network of Parliamentarians on Climate Change (ANPCC)—a platform that fosters peer learning, advocacy and coordinated legislative action on climate across Africa.