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As global leaders convene in Belém for COP30, Africa stands at a pivotal moment, with its climate future hanging in the balance.
As the world prepares for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), to be held from 10 to 21 November 2025 in Belém, Brazil—a gateway to the Amazon rainforest—attention is again turning to the position of developing economies within the global climate change regime. The symbolic choice of the Amazon underscores the growing recognition that developing countries must play a central role in tackling the climate crisis. Yet for Africa, this recognition must translate into tangible outcomes, not just rhetoric.
For decades, Africa’s climate narrative has been defined by contradiction. The continent contributes less than four percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet suffers disproportionately from their effects. Recurrent droughts, floods, and food insecurity continue to threaten millions. While the moral call for “climate justice” remains legitimate, it has produced limited results. Developed countries have repeatedly failed to honour their financing commitments, and Africa’s adaptation needs continue to outpace the resources available. However, as the impacts of climate change intensify, Africa’s moralistic conviction must give way to strategic, homegrown solutions.
ACS2 reflected Africa’s determination to transition from rhetoric to implementation of climate change adaptation mechanisms.
This shift was clearly articulated during the Second African Climate Summit (ACS2), held in Addis Ababa in September 2025. Building on the inaugural summit in Nairobi in 2023, ACS2 reflected Africa’s determination to transition from rhetoric to implementation of climate change adaptation mechanisms. The summit sought to consolidate African-led strategies through investment, innovation, and institutional reform, positioning the continent as an active architect of its green transition rather than a passive recipient of aid.
A central theme of ACS2 was the urgent need to transform Africa’s climate finance landscape. Although the continent possesses abundant renewable energy potential, vast natural resources, and a young population, it continues to face the highest borrowing costs in the world. Structural biases in global credit-rating systems classify African economies as high-risk, discouraging private investment and inflating the cost of capital. At ACS2, African leaders argued that climate justice is unattainable without financial justice. Reforming the global financial architecture must therefore involve reducing borrowing costs, expanding concessional financing, and strengthening Africa’s own financial institutions.
At ACS2, African leaders argued that climate justice is unattainable without financial justice.
The decision to establish the African Climate Facility (ACF) and the Africa Climate Innovation Compact (ACIC) were important outcomes of ACS2. These initiatives are designed to channel finance toward sustainable industrialisation, provide risk guarantees, and mobilise private sector investment. However, African leaders stressed that real transformation will only occur if multilateral development banks (MDBs) adjust their governance structures to give African countries a stronger voice and recognise African financial institutions as preferred creditors.
The summit also highlighted the inadequacy of Africa’s current infrastructure, which largely reflects colonial-era patterns of extraction. Roads, ports, and railways were built to export raw materials rather than to link regional economies. This extractive design perpetuates environmental degradation and economic dependency. ACS2 called for redirecting infrastructure investment toward regional integration, renewable energy grids, and climate-resilient systems.
ACS2 called for redirecting infrastructure investment toward regional integration, renewable energy grids, and climate-resilient systems.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was identified as a cornerstone for this transformation. By promoting intra-African trade and developing regional value chains, AfCFTA can help countries process their own raw materials locally. For example, processing coffee, cocoa, and critical minerals such as cobalt and lithium within Africa would reduce transport emissions, generate employment, and increase value addition. This shift from resource extraction to local production exemplifies what African-led climate solutions could look like in practice.
Another key discussion at ACS2 revolved around Africa’s limited participation in the global carbon credit market. Despite its vast potential for nature-based solutions, the continent captures only 16 percent of global carbon credits. Weak regulation, under-pricing, and limited community involvement mean that local populations benefit minimally. To address this, African leaders proposed establishing a unified, African-regulated carbon market that ensures transparency, fair pricing, and reinvestment into local adaptation projects. Such a market could be linked with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which enables the voluntary exchange of carbon credits among countries.
ACS2 also underscored the role of youth and innovation in Africa’s climate future. With a median age of under 20, the continent’s young population represents both a challenge and an opportunity. The Africa Climate Innovation Compact seeks to empower startups, research institutions, and young entrepreneurs developing clean energy, agri-tech, and digital climate solutions. This recognition marks a decisive shift from dependency narratives toward self-determination, positioning African youth as active drivers of sustainable transformation.
As COP30 approaches, Africa’s expectations are shaped by the outcomes of ACS2 and ongoing deliberations within the African Group of Negotiators (AGN). The continent’s top priority is an ambitious and equitable increase in climate finance. Developed countries had pledged in Copenhagen in 2009 to collectively mobilise US$100 billion per year by 2020 to support climate action in developing countries—a goal that remains both inadequate and unmet. African negotiators emphasise that the new goal must reflect current realities, with accessible, predictable, and grant-based funding to support both mitigation and adaptation.
At COP30, Africa will advocate for parity between mitigation and adaptation financing, alongside dedicated funding for the Global Goal on Adaptation.
Adaptation, loss, and damage are equally critical. African nations spend up to five percent of their GDP addressing climate impacts, resources that could otherwise fund health, education, and infrastructure. At COP30, Africa will advocate for parity between mitigation and adaptation financing, alongside dedicated funding for the Global Goal on Adaptation. These resources are vital for building resilience in sectors such as agriculture, water, and infrastructure.
Moreover, Africa demands that international mechanisms governing carbon markets, specifically Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, be fully operationalised by 2026. This would allow African countries to benefit more directly from carbon trading through authorised, transparent systems that align with national development goals. Finally, Africa calls for a just approach to critical minerals. The continent’s abundant reserves of cobalt, manganese, graphite, and copper must fuel domestic industrialisation rather than external exploitation. A just transition, therefore, requires that green value chains be built within Africa.
COP30 represents a critical juncture for the continent and for global climate governance. If international financial systems and climate institutions align with Africa’s agenda, the global green transition will gain a strong and indispensable partner. However, if high borrowing costs, unmet pledges, and structural inequities persist, both Africa and the planet will face severe consequences.
Africa’s path forward must be guided by its own resources, demographics, and aspirations. The outcomes of the Second African Climate Summit reveal a continent ready to lead, with a unified vision that links adaptation to industrialisation, and climate resilience to economic transformation. The question is whether the global community will recognise that a sustainable planet depends on a climate-resilient Africa — and how it will empower the continent to implement its climate solutions. Much is at stake at the 2025 COP Summit.
Samir Bhattacharya is an Associate Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.
Eyoel Mesfin Lakew is a Young Professional at the Ethiopian Investment Commission and a RAISINA–IE Global Fellow.
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Samir Bhattacharya is an Associate Fellow at Observer Research Foundation (ORF), where he works on geopolitics with particular reference to Africa in the changing global ...
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Eyoel Mesfin Lakew is a Young Professional at the Ethiopian Investment Commission and a RAISINA–IE Global Fellow. ...
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