African nations need to develop strategies to address climate change, which poses an "existential threat to the continent's megacities," Gabonese President Ali Bongo said yesterday, speaking at a conference in Libreville.

The capital of Gabon on Wednesday hosted the third conference of African Climate Week, aimed at preparing more than a thousand African officials and experts for the positions that the continent's countries will present at the 27th annual United Nations climate conference in Egypt in November.

"Climate change is a profound challenge in Africa and a major challenge of our time, which amplifies existing social, political and economic inequalities," stressed Patricia Scotland, secretary-general of the Commonwealth, in statements at the meeting quoted by the Associated Press and Lusa.

This third African Climate Week takes place against a backdrop of particularly extreme weather events, such as drought in East Africa and the Horn of Africa, sandstorms and extreme heat in the Sahel region of West Africa, and destructive flash floods, and storms, including cyclones, in Central, West and Southern Africa.

Sameh Shoukry, Egypt's foreign minister, lamented as host of the UN conference that promises made to African countries to help them fight climate change have not been kept.

"The international community is lagging behind in mitigation, adaptation and finance. Several promises on climate change mitigation and adaptation finance that were concluded [at the Climate Summit in late 2021] in Glasgow are yet to be fulfilled," the head of Egypt's diplomacy said.

Shoukry called "the backtracking on commitments by many developed countries" a "cause for concern" for many African countries, stressing that "the delay in delivering climate finance continues to affect Africa's efforts to contribute to the global effort against climate change."

The agenda of the African Climate Week conference includes other critical concerns of the continent, namely food security, carbon markets, climate migrants, and coastal resilience.

Climate early warning systems, integrated water management to address scarcity, and international cooperation to boost climate action will be other issues under discussion.