Africa Demands Action: COP30 Must Unlock Climate Finance and Deliver Results
Africa holds the greatest potential to transform the global climate fight, but leaders warn that the continent remains starved of the finance needed to unleash its full power.
That was the message from a joint statement issued on September 4, 2025, by Dr. Fitsum Assefa, Ethiopia’s Minister of Planning and Development, and Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, as Climate Week wrapped up.
They described Africa as a “colossal coiled spring of climate action possibility,” citing its youthful population, abundant natural resources, and unmatched renewable energy potential. Across the continent, innovators are already advancing pioneering solutions to cut emissions and build climate resilience.
Yet despite clean energy investments topping $2 trillion globally last year, only a fraction is reaching Africa. The statement stressed that adaptation efforts from protecting communities and infrastructure to creating new jobs are among the most cost-effective ways to build climate justice and safeguard development, but are still critically underfunded.
Recent global climate negotiations have secured landmark commitments, including the Loss and Damage Fund at COP27, a global goal on adaptation at COP28, and a pledge to triple climate finance to $1.3 trillion annually by 2035. COP29 also operationalised carbon markets. But Assefa and Stiell argued that these agreements must now move from paper to practice.
They said COP30 will be the defining moment, urging “ambitious outcomes which convert agreements into results on the ground” and “scalable solutions” that open a new era of implementation.
The momentum is building toward the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2), which opens next week in Addis Ababa. The summit, they said, will be Africa’s platform to showcase unity, leadership, and urgency while setting the tone for COP30.
“The message is clear: Africa is ready to supercharge climate action. But COP30 must ensure Africa is fully enabled to do so,” the statement concluded. “When all nations are empowered to take bold climate actions, the entire global economy is strengthened, lifting up all 8 billion people.”
Africa Poised to Lead Global Climate Action, But Calls for COP30 to Deliver Investment and Results
Africa holds the greatest potential to transform the global climate fight, but leaders warn that the continent remains starved of the finance needed to unleash its full power.
That was the message from a joint statement issued on September 4, 2025, by Dr. Fitsum Assefa, Ethiopia’s Minister of Planning and Development, and Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, as Climate Week wrapped up.
They described Africa as a “colossal coiled spring of climate action possibility,” citing its youthful population, abundant natural resources, and unmatched renewable energy potential. Across the continent, innovators are already advancing pioneering solutions to cut emissions and build climate resilience.
Yet despite clean energy investments topping $2 trillion globally last year, only a fraction is reaching Africa. The statement stressed that adaptation efforts — from protecting communities and infrastructure to creating new jobs — are among the most cost-effective ways to build climate justice and safeguard development, but are still critically underfunded.
Recent global climate negotiations have secured landmark commitments, including the Loss and Damage Fund at COP27, a global goal on adaptation at COP28, and a pledge to triple climate finance to $1.3 trillion annually by 2035. COP29 also operationalised carbon markets. But Assefa and Stiell argued that these agreements must now move from paper to practice.
They said COP30 will be the defining moment, urging “ambitious outcomes which convert agreements into results on the ground” and “scalable solutions” that open a new era of implementation.
The momentum is building toward the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2), which opens next week in Addis Ababa. The summit, they said, will be Africa’s platform to showcase unity, leadership, and urgency while setting the tone for COP30.
“The message is clear: Africa is ready to supercharge climate action. But COP30 must ensure Africa is fully enabled to do so,” the statement concluded. “When all nations are empowered to take bold climate actions, the entire global economy is strengthened, lifting up all 8 billion people.”
