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Recently Thelma Arko, postdoctoral researcher at Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ��, wrote a blog for the Review of African Political Economy. In the blog, Arko sets out how supposed good intentions don't always lead to the desired outcomes. For example, although climate finance mechanisms are meant to support sustainable development, they often reinforce neocolonial economic structures, upholding global inequalities and maintaining Africa’s economic dependency. Therefore, Arko argues that African countries must work together and assert their sovereignty to achieve equity and sustainable development.

While Africa's contribution to the emission of greenhouse gasses is minimal, the continent strongly experiences the consequences of climate change. Financing is thus necessary for African, especially vulnerable and developing, countries to be able to adapt to climate change's impact. However, actions supporting this cause often arise within a capitalist context. As a result, they may lead to debt and an even stronger dependency of African countries on the Global North, thereby exposing the deeply rooted inequalities within the global economic order which facilitates wealth extraction from the Global South. Rather than creating independent and resilient actors in the battle against climate change, these climate finances thus give rise to new forms of economic precarity and endanger African countries' development paths.

True economic liberation lies not in minor adjustments, but in fundamentally challenging these power structures and forging a new path that prioritizes self-determination, equality, and sustainable development. Breaking free from the chains of global financial domination requires not just courage and unity, but a revolutionary commitment to transformative change. African governments and peoples must chart their own path, guided by their unique histories, cultures, and aspirations, rejecting imposed “solutions” that serve external interests.

In the blog, Arko dives deeper into how climate finance, policy actions, and their impacts on African economies are all connected and affecting each other. She highlights certain financial and economic challenges that underscore the urgent need for a radical transformation of the global economic order, while proposing strategies to achieve this.