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Africa's second UN Climate Week in Addis Ababa aims to elevate the continent's climate priorities onto the global stage.
The event, part of the bi-annual UN Climate Change Week series, focuses on finance for climate adaptation, forest action and agriculture.
It sets the stage for the Africa Climate Summit and COP30, emphasising Africa's role in global climate solutions.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Ethiopian government said that they are working to elevate Africa’s climate priorities into a global agenda during the ongoing second Climate Week of 2025 (CW2) in Addis Ababa.
CW2 from September 1-6, 2025 is part of the bi-annual Climate Change Week series organised by the United Nations. It will be followed by the second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) that is set to take place from September 8 to September 10, 2025 at Addis Ababa. CW1 took place in Panama in May 2025.
The purpose of CW2, according to the organisers, is to highlight issues of finance in climate adaptation, enhance forest climate action, facilitate public–private finance dialogue, speed up agriculture climate action as well as to ensure multilevel and community-driven climate actions ahead of the ACS2 and upcoming COP30 in Belém, Brazil.
The major focus of the Addis Ababa African climate summit is on Africa’s climate priorities and actions in the global arenas, including COP30, said Mensur Desse, lead executive officer, Ministry of Planning and Development.
The forthcoming ACS2 will serve as a step to design the continent’s long-term climate actions and mechanisms to tackle challenges related to climate change, instead of seeking promises from the international community.
Dessalegn Atnafu, an environment expert at the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority, also expressed his conviction that the Ministry of Planning and Development, along with UNFCCC and other international actors, will be able to meticulously design strong messages to the international community to strengthen the global climate actions and financing to make Africa climate resilient and build green economies.
CW2 and the subsequent ACS2 will strengthen the continent’s climate change actions, according to Atnafu. By unlocking financial resources, these platforms will facilitate further climate actions and discussions for COP30 and beyond.
According to UNFFCC, one of the core objectives of ACS2 is “to accelerate the mobilisation of climate finance tailored to Africa’s development context”. The UN agency stated that the Summit aims to channel capital towards clean energy projects, climate-resilient infrastructure and sustainable agriculture, among others.
“The outcomes of ACS2 will be reflected in discussions during COP30, where negotiations and deliberations will focus on NDC 3.0 and the Baku-to-Belém Roadmap, which aims to mobilize at least $1.3 trillion annually by 2035 to support climate action in developing countries.”
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Planning and Development, in association with the Government Communication Service and the Global Green Growth Institute is also offering training sessions and awareness creation forums for climate scientists and communicators in Addis Ababa as part of the 2nd Africa Climate Week.
Various organisations working on climate change, experts and policymakers from African nations, international and regional organisations, civil society organisations and other stakeholders are taking part in CW2. They'll be engaging through high-level consultations, side discussions, sharing of experiences, exhibitions and networking opportunities.
“The Climate Change Week and Summit demonstrate that climate solutions must be locally rooted yet globally resonant to build a sustainable future for all,” said Ethiopia’s Minister of Planning and Development, Fitsum Assefa, speaking to reporters in Addis Ababa. “The strategic alignment of the African Climate Summit and COP30 ensures that Africa’s climate priorities do not to remain regional aspirations but are elevated into the global agenda.”
UNFCCC, in collaboration with the Ethiopian government, has launched the African Climate Week in Bishoftu town under the theme “Dialogues for Ambition and Implementation”.
Attending a pre-summit meeting in Addis Ababa, African climate change negotiators expressed readiness to present Africa’s concerns in all the regional and international forums.
Affordable financing is critical for African nations already carrying heavy debt burdens and suffering from climate shocks such as floods and droughts, Princess Abze Djigma, coordinator of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) indicated.
Evans Davie Njewa, chairperson of the LDC Group at Climate Change, highlighted the importance of mobilising accessible climate finance that reaches affected communities, apart from mere discussions, during CW2.
Njewa also underlined that the worsening impacts of climate change, including food insecurity, floods and destruction of infrastructure, constitute a climate emergency for Africa.
Finance, he added, must be accessible in the form of grants for vulnerable people in the continent. He also stressed the critical role of job creation for the youth poverty reduction and climate adaptation. “Our role is to ensure that just transition is not just a word, but is about making development sustainable, fair and equitable for every single person.”
