As the UN's Climate Change Summit continues in Copenhagen, Africa must take a firm stand by seeking financial compensation, technology transfer and capacity building from developed economies to mitigate climate change.

Only in this way can this continent mitigate against the tragedy of climate change.

Copenhagen is taking place from the ruins of the Kyoto Protocol.

We must either walk as a team on this continent or hang the future generations separately.

But chances of agreeing on a legally binding treaty at Copenhagen to either expand or replace the existing Kyoto Protocol appear to be in troubled waters.

Is it then possible for a deal that will see rich nations agree to ambitious emissions cuts by rich nations and financing pledges to poor nations.

We believe this is possible.

South Africa has already led the way with a proposal and that is the way to go.

While we are still optimistic that Copenhagen Protocol is possible, we urge the African nations - and other developing countries' counterparts to resist any side and bilateral tactics that mark many UN Summits.

Already the continent is facing the effects of higher temperatures and rising sea level and it will face enormous posers as it comes face to face with the climate change challenges.

As a result, and we say this for record, Africa should not negotiate as an underdog.

We know that the continent lacks proper infrastructure and/or coping capacity.

Simply put, as one expert put it recently, we have no safety net.

But that as it may, it should not be used as an excuse to have the continent negotiate from a subdued position.

There are a couple of things that should be tackled first. The most urgent is food security.

Climate change will also witness pest outbreaks which will have massive implications for the continent.

Our energy sector and infrastructure will be hit too and economic development may stall.

That is why the continent must negotiate and demand for deeper emission cuts from developed nations and seek for aid towards greener energy - as a compensation.

Africa will no longer be able to walk the polluting path that developed nations walked as they build their rich economies.