‘Developed countries need to double funding to Africa for adaptation to climate change’

Richer, more polluting nations need to increase funding for projects to help African countries adapt to climate change, the continent’s leaders said.

African heads of state and top figures from global organisations met in Rotterdam September 5, 2022 to address climate change financing in Africa.

Developed nations need to at least collectively double the climate adaptation finance to Africa by 2025, the leaders said at the African Adaptation Summit, Global Center on Adaptation. 

An agenda for adaptation was also set for Africa ahead of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP27. The agenda has been included in the 5-point “adaptation delivery breakthrough” adopted for COP27, scheduled in Egypt November 2022. 

Two of the five points in the breakthrough statement underscore how Africa is least responsible but most vulnerable to climate impacts. Africa was at a tipping point due to being most exposed to the food crisis triggered by the Ukraine conflict and the frontline of the global climate breakdown, it said.

Other three points focused on adaptation — doubling international finance for adaptation by 2025, capitalising Africa’s Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) and making available the AAAP Upstream Financing Facility’s full resourcing needs by COP-27.

AAAP is led by African Development Bank and the Global Center on Adaptation. It aims to mobilise $25 billion by 2025, to accelerate and scale climate adaptation action across the continent.

African Development Bank has already committed $12.5 billion. “We now need full financing of the $12.5 billion for the AAAP,” said Akinwumi A Adesina, president African Development Bank Group, at the summit.

The most vulnerable continent to consequences of the climate crisis does not have the resources to tackle climate change, he said.

A standalone and transparent implementation plan showing progress towards the 2025 doubling target and flowing funds to country-led programmes like Africa’s AAAP, would provide a powerful outcome to COP27, the agenda statement said.

Developed nations committed to providing $100 billion per year to support developing countries in mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Of this, adaptation finance accounted for just one-fourth of total climate finance.

Developed countries at COP26 had agreed to double the funding for adaptation by 2025.

Africa is at the frontline of the global climate emergency and adaptation presents an unprecedented opportunity for COP27 to secure unstoppable progress. It is also the most effective pathway to minimise climate-related loss and damage, the communication said.

Success at COP27 will depend on whether the needs of Africa, the world’s most climate-vulnerable continent, are met, the statement said. Finance needs to flow into key country-led adaptation programs such as the AAAP.

African Union President Macky Sall of Senegal called upon Africa’s development partners to fully fund the AAAP and make it an exemplary model of what is possible when we collaborate.

“COP26 marked a breakthrough thanks to your determination to put adaptation on the global agenda by doubling adaptation finance. Now, with your help, we must keep that promise. With your support, the AAAP can make this vision a reality,” concluded Sall.

It’s time to turn words into deeds and ambition into action, said Ghana President Nana Afuko-Addo, calling for standalone implementation plan of the promise made at COP26 to double adaptation funding by 2025. Afuko-Addo is also climate vulnerable forum chair president. 

“Crucially, we expect progress and we expect to see how funds will flow into country-led programs like the AAAP,” Afuko-Addo said at the summit.

Africa generates less than 3 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions, is least responsible for the causes of climate change, but suffers the most.

For instance, by 2030, up to 118 million extremely poor people or those living on less than $1.90/day will be exposed to drought, floods and extreme heat in Africa, according to State of the Climate in Africa 2020 report.

GDP losses per capita could be as high as 16-64 per cent under high warming scenario, as per estimates by the African Development Bank.

With an African COP this year, the continent cannot miss out on a win for the region on climate, said leaders representing Africa at the adaptation summit.  

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