Emerging climate change regimes such as the mechanism for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) are increasingly aiming to engage developing countries such  as those in Africa in sustainable development through carbon markets. The contribution of African  countries to the global climate decisions determines how compatible the negotiated rules could be  with existing socioeconomic and policy circumstances of African countries. The aim of this paper  is to explore the agency of Africa (African States) in the global climate change negotiations and dis cuss possible implications for implementing these rules using REDD+ as a case study. Drawing on  document analysis and semi-structured expert interviews, our findings suggest that although African  countries are extensively involved in the implementation of REDD+ interventions, the continent has  a weak agency in the design of the global REDD+ architecture. This weak agency results from a  number of factors including the inability of countries to sponsor large and diverse delegations to the  negotiations; inability to generate and transmit research evidence. African countries also perceive  themselves as victims of climate change eligible for support rather than sources of technological  solutions. Again, Africa’s position in the negotiations is further fragmented across negotiation co alitions which make it unable to collectively influence the REDD+ agenda. The paper discusses a  number of implementation deficits which could result from this weak agency. These include concerns  of implementation capacity and a potential lack of coherence between globally negotiated rules and  existing policies of African countries. These findings call for the need to rethink pathways to enhanc ing Africa’s strategies in engaging in multilateral climate change negotiations. This is critical if the  effectiveness of climate change regimes specifically targeted at developing countries is to be realised.  Key words: Africa, actors, agency, REDD+ design, implementation, sustainable development

Exploring the Agency of Africa in Climate Change Negotiations: The Case of REDD+