At the Africa Climate Summit, leaders push for climate finance reforms ahead of COP30

African leaders, policymakers, researchers, and innovators converged in Ethiopia’s capital for the second Africa Climate Summit, determined to prove the continent is no longer content sitting on the sidelines of global climate diplomacy. 

Held under the banner “Accelerating Global Climate Solutions and Financing for Africa’s Resilient and Green Development,” the summit closed with the adoption of the Addis Ababa Declaration, a sweeping call to action that sets Africa’s climate and development agenda, and sharpens its collective voice ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil.

At AfriCatalyst, we played a pivotal role in the discussions. In a side event organised by the African Union, the Global Green Growth Institute and African Risk Capacity Limited, Fabio Cresto Alena, Climate adaptation specialist at AfriCatalyst joined the conversation on  Purposeful Investment on Advancing Gender-Inclusive Climate Solutions. to spotlight policy innovations that could unlock gender-responsive climate finance.

Gender and climate finance

Few themes resonated as powerfully as the urgent call for gender-just climate action. Across the continent, women and girls — particularly in rural communities — face the brunt of the rising climate crisis. From food insecurity and health risks to economic exclusion, they remain on the frontlines while often left out of conventional finance channels.

“Current global climate finance mechanisms continue to fall short in addressing the specific vulnerabilities faced by women and girls,” said Fabio Cresto Aleina, AfriCatalyst’s climate adaptation specialist. “Bridging the gap between global climate finance commitments and local implementation that benefits women and vulnerable groups is an imperative now more than ever.”

UN Women projects that climate change could push an additional 236 million women and girls into food insecurity by 2050, while 93 million more could fall into poverty. The World Health Organization estimates climate-related health risks will cause 250,000 additional deaths annually between 2030 and 2050. These figures underscore the scale of the crisis and the need for targeted financial interventions.

Expanding the financial toolkit

The Addis Ababa discussions also revived interest in innovative financial instruments designed to address Africa’s chronic climate financing gap. Gender bonds, for example, are structured to channel capital into projects led by and for women, from renewable energy to climate-smart agriculture. Resilience funds, by pooling contributions from governments, development banks, and private investors, offer a lifeline for communities hit by droughts or floods, providing quick financing without driving countries deeper into debt. 

Debt-for-climate swaps, meanwhile, trade debt relief for domestic investment in green projects. Tested in places like Seychelles and Belize, the approach was flagged at the Africa Climate Summit as ripe for scaling across Africa in renewable energy, reforestation, and just transition sectors.

None of these are cure-alls. But together, they mark a shift away from aid-dependent approaches toward sustainable and inclusive finance.

A Declaration rooted in justice

The Addis Ababa Declaration frames climate finance not as benevolence but as an obligation owed to developing countries who have suffered decades of exploitation and exclusion from the Bretton Woods financial systems. While Africa contributes the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, it shoulders disproportionate costs. Leaders warned that climate change is a “multiplier of risks,” fueling displacement, resource conflict, and instability.

Africa requires nearly $2.8 trillion by 2030 to meet its climate action plans. Yet in 2022, the continent received less than 12 percent of its annual needs, most of it in loans that worsen debt distress. The declaration demands scaled-up, predictable, grant-based finance that is accessible to the most vulnerable states.

Concrete targets were highlighted such as achieving 300 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030, expanding electricity access for 300 million people, providing clean cooking solutions for 900 million, capitalizing the Loss and Damage Fund, and scaling Africa’s Green Minerals Strategy while investing in nature-based projects such as the Great Green Wall, AFR100, and mangrove restoration.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed unveiled the African Climate Innovation Compact, which aims to deliver 1,000 African-led climate solutions by 2030 with $50 billion in annual support.

Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, cautioned: “Without a coordinated African stance, extractive models will persist, environmental degradation will deepen, and inequities in value distribution will widen. But with unity, Africa can leverage its mineral wealth to drive industrialization, advance regional value chains, and power a just energy transition that leaves no one behind.”

Trade pressures and global demands

The declaration rejected unilateral trade measures such as the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, warning that it could undercut Africa’s industrialization. Instead, leaders called for cooperative, multilateral responses grounded in the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

Looking ahead to COP30, Africa has set its expectations high. Leaders demanded that the new Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance — meant to replace the unmet $100 billion pledge — be set above $300 billion annually. With the continent alone requiring $2.8 trillion by 2030, the message is blunt: incrementalism is not enough.

Africa will not remain a passive victim of climate change. From renewable energy to nature-based solutions, the Addis Ababa Declaration casts the continent as a hub of opportunity but only if global partners match words with resources.

For AfriCatalyst, the task ahead is clear. As the declaration signals, Africa’s future rests on resilience, unity, and innovation. The world must now decide whether it is willing to meet that ambition.