FROM CRISIS TO LEADERSHIP: AFRICA’S BOLD CLIMATE AGENDA AT THE SECOND AFRICA CLIMATE SUMMIT

Introduction

From 8 to 10 September 2025, the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia will host the second Africa Climate Summit, a landmark event convened by the African Union in partnership with the Government of Ethiopia. This summit arrives at a critical juncture for the continent, which continues to bear the brunt of climate change despite contributing minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions. The theme for this year’s summit “Accelerating Global Climate Solutions and Financing for Africa’s Resilient and Green Development” signals a bold ambition to reshape Africa’s climate future through transformative financing and policy shifts.

This year’s Summit builds on the inaugural African Climate Summit, which took place in Nairobi, Kenya from 4 to 6 September 2023. Africa’s first Climate Summit culminated in the Nairobi Declaration, which laid out an 11-point call to action including for global financial reform, debt relief, climate finance and a green growth agenda. The Declaration also called for the full operationalisation of the Loss and Damage fund established at the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP 27), now called the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD). This year’s Summit is an opportunity to be bolder in demanding greater action and support to enable African and other developing countries to address loss and damage. Mobilising finance at the scale and scope of the needs is essential to create a world in which all humans, all other species and all ecosystems are thriving on a healthy planet.

The Summit will bring together a diverse coalition of stakeholders, including African heads of states, global leaders, development partners, civil society representatives, private sectors, researchers, climate champions, academia, youth leaders, climate activists among others. It aims to consolidate Africa’s voice in global climate negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the lead-up to COP 30, which will be held in Belém, Brazil, in November and to promote African-led solutions that are locally grounded, equitable and scalable. With a focus on climate finance, adaptation, mitigation and sustainable development, the Summit is poised to be a turning point in Africa’s climate journey.

Why does the second Africa Climate Summit matter?

Africa is one of the most climate-vulnerable continents in the world, facing rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts and devastating floods. Africa’s contribution to global emissions is strikingly low. As of 2021, the continent accounted for just 4 percent of total global emissions, despite comprising roughly 17 percent of the world’s population. This stark imbalance underscores the injustice of climate impacts: the continent least responsible for the climate crisis is among the most severely affected. This great injustice also underscores the urgency of the second Africa Climate Summit, which seeks to elevate Africa’s leadership in climate action and demand accountability from wealthy countries.

The Summit will serve as a platform to advocate for developed countries, whose historical emissions and economic advantages have contributed disproportionately to the climate crisis, to meet their obligations to deliver new, additional, public and grant-based climate finance in line with the UNFCCC’s principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities and climate justice, to meet the needs of developing countries. The Summit will also encourage multilateral collaboration and provide an important opportunity for frontline communities to inform climate solutions.

Loss and damage: Africa’s unanswered crisis

One of the most pressing and under-addressed issues in Africa’s climate discourse is loss and damage; which refers to the unavoided or unavoidable harm caused by climate change. This includes displacement, cultural erosion, biodiversity loss and infrastructure destruction - among many others. Something which is rapidly escalating, as despite repeated calls from African nations, developed countries have failed to take the lead to rapidly phase out fossil fuels and deliver adequate adaptation and Loss and Damage finance at the scale of the needs of developing countries. This has left many communities exposed and picking up the bill for a climate crisis they did little or in many cases, nothing to cause.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Sixth Assessment Report warns that Africa’s ability to adapt is being pushed to its limits. The report highlights that climate change is already exceeding adaptation efforts, resulting in significant loss and damage and that loss and damage will increase with every increment of warming. At 1.5°C of warming, adaptation options will be considerably reduced, particularly for vulnerable populations such as Indigenous Peoples, smallholder farmers and communities in low-lying coastal areas. The IPCC also stresses that there can be no climate-resilient development for Africa above 1.5°C and that some regions may have already reached their adaptation limits.

Globally, Loss and Damage finance needs in developing countries are expected to be on average 395 billion USD, but could climb as high as 937 billion USD. In Africa alone, according to the African Development Bank, the continent is expected to face climate-related costs between 290 billion USD and 440 billion USD between 2020 and 2030.

When we look at the loss and damage in Africa, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), reports that in 2024 alone, flooding affected 7.5 million people across 18 African countries. Chad was the most impacted, with 1.9 million people affected, followed by Niger (1.5 million), Nigeria (1.3 million) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (1.2 million). Cameroon, Mali, Guinea and the Republic of Congo collectively recorded 1.1 million affected individuals. These floods damaged or destroyed over 649,000 homes, disrupted 1,277 schools and 221 health facilities and displaced 1.7 million people. More than 960,000 hectares of farmland were rendered unusable and 128,000 heads of cattle were lost. As of July 2025, floods have already impacted 129,000 people in the Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ghana. The Democratic Republic of Congo remains the worst-hit, with 63,000 people affected; tragically, 361 deaths have been recorded since the flooding began.

These statistics highlight the limits of adaptation that are already being reached and underscore the urgent need for dedicated Loss and Damage finance that addresses the full spectrum of climate-induced harm. The failure to deliver adequate finance for Loss and Damage that is accessible to Africans reflects a broader failure of the international system to uphold the principles of equity and responsibility.

What should the second Africa Climate Summit deliver?

The second Africa Climate Summit must move beyond Declarations and deliver tangible outcomes that address the continent’s climate finance needs. This should include:

• Operationalising demands for a stronger Warsaw International Mechanism: The Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage (WIM), the oversight body on Loss and Damage under the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement, is undergoing its third review. African countries have already demonstrated unity and leadership by calling for  a comprehensive State of Loss and Damage report together with other countries working together under the umbrella of the Group of 77 and China, the 134 developing countries negotiating as one bloc. This report must reflect the continent’s unique vulnerabilities, document incurred and projected loss and damage, highlight both ongoing and post-event impacts, showcase effective solutions and best practices and provides robust quantification of both economic and non-economic loss and damage, ensuring that Africa’s experience, along with those of other developing countries, is fully recognised and addressed within global climate frameworks.

Additionally, voluntary guidelines for reporting in Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs), currently being prepared by the WIM’s Executive Committee should be responsive to the realities and capacities of African and other developing countries. These guidelines should build on the valuable experiences and lessons shared by African countries at the 2025 Bonn Climate Conference, ensuring they are both practical and inclusive. Furthermore, we expect to see recognition of the WIM review and its anticipated outcome for driving action and support on Loss and Damage in the Summit’s Declaration.

• Mobilising finance for technical assistance: Another critical piece of the Loss and Damage support architecture is the Santiago Network for Loss and Damage (Santiago Network), which was established during the second review of the WIM. The Santiago Network’s  mandate is to catalyse technical assistance for vulnerable countries facing climate-induced loss and damage. This includes support to develop policies and plans to respond to loss and damage and undertake loss and damage assessments. We expect to see recognition of the Network and its potential for enabling African countries to better assess and address loss and damage.

However, the lack of sustainable funding and the limited scale of current pledges threaten the Network’s ability to deliver on its promise. Without adequate resources, African countries and other developing countries on the frontlines of the climate crisis will be left without the support they need to put in place Loss and Damage strategies or carry out other vital work such as loss and damage needs assessments. This gap risks deepening existing vulnerabilities and delaying action where it is most urgently needed.

To fulfil its mandate effectively, the Santiago Network must be adequately resourced, both financially and institutionally, with contributions led by developed countries, so that it can provide timely and tailored support to African and other developing countries. African-led initiatives could play a critical role in supporting countries across the continent to develop and submit technical assistance requests to the Network. It is also essential that initiatives working at all levels across the continent become members of the Network so that tailored support grounded in an understanding of local, national and regional contexts is delivered for Africans by Africans.  

At the Summit we hope to see discussions on how African countries can access support through the Network as well as discussions on the essential role of Africa in shaping this work, including to:

• Designate national liaisons to the Santiago Network Secretariat to serve as bridges between national governments and the Network. These liaisons will play a key role in ensuring that technical assistance aligns with national priorities and facilitates effective coordination.
• Collaborate with local organisations, bodies, networks and experts (OBNEs) as members of the Network to ensure that technical assistance requests are rooted in community-level realities and reflect the lived experiences of those most affected.
• Leverage regional offices to enhance accessibility and responsiveness to country-specific needs, local realities and urgent climate-related challenges. The Santiago Network’s presence in Africa can be instrumental in helping communities prepare for and respond to loss and damage, including supporting the development of funding proposals to the FRLD.

• An FRLD aligned with the needs: The Board of the FRLD is working to operationalise the start up phase of the Fund – the Barbados Implementation Modalities (BIM). African countries should call for a BIM that is guided by a funding criteria that does not create a barrier to access for developing countries, a project/program cycle that ensures the FRLD can respond rapidly to loss and damage and to ensure that all developing countries are able directly access budget support from the FRLD.   Given the levels of climate-related loss and damage being experienced across the continent, African countries should also call for the FRLD to put in place a resource mobilisation strategy that delivers at least 100 billion USD by 2030 and 400 billion USD a year soon after. This must be led by the provison of new and aditonal public grant-based finance from developed countries and supported by the mobilisation of alternative sources such as a climate damages tax, financial transaction tax, a maritime fuel levy, wealth tax, among others – all grounded in the principles of polluter pays, pro-poor policies and equity.

We hope the Summit will lead to a Declaration that affirms a forward-looking commitment to climate justice, encouraging developed countries to take the lead in providing new and additional public, grant-based loss and damage finance to address the full scale and scope of the needs in African and other developing countries..

• Ensuring mitigation action is aligned with the 1.5℃ temperature goal: Current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) put the world on course for approximately 2.9°C of warming, far beyond the 1.5°C limit critical for Africa’s survival. As COP 30 approaches, it is essential that developed countries whose historical emissions have significantly contributed to the climate crisis take the lead in submitting revised, 1.5°C-aligned NDCs that reflect both the urgency of the moment and their responsibility to act.  Many African countries are already demonstrating leadership in advancing renewable energy and low-carbon development pathways.  As momentum builds, African nations also have a valuable opportunity to integrate Loss and Damage commitments into their NDCs, helping to reflect the realities of climate vulnerability and recovery needs.
• Mobilising climate finance at the scale of the needs: Finally, Baku to Belém roadmap to 1.3T (Roadmap), launched under the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG) at COP 29, offers a timely opportunity to ensure that climate finance is responsive to the real and evolving needs of African countries and other developing countries. While indicative targets such as the 1.3 trillion USD figure can help frame ambition, it is important that the Roadmap remains grounded in the realities faced by those most vulnerable to climate impacts.

We hope to see African countries continue to lead with unity and purpose, advocating for a Roadmap that reflects the continent’s priorities. An equitable, justice and rights-aligned, universally accepted, definition of climate finance must also be agreed under the Roadmap. Equitable and ambitious progress under the Roadmap is essential to ensure that Africa receives fair, adequate and accessible climate finance to address the growing impacts of climate change and that the continent's debt burdens are not increased.

The Summit Declaration should call for the COP 30 to elevate Loss and Damage as a core priority alongside the Global Goal on Adaptation, Just Transition and the Global Stocktake.

Conclusion

The Second Africa Climate Summit marks a critical juncture for the continent, a chance to move from rhetoric to results. Africa is expected to use this moment to shape a climate finance strategy that is bold, equitable and grounded in the lived realities of its people. By demanding transparency, mobilising meaningful resources and elevating African priorities, the summit can lay the foundation for a resilient, green and just future not only for Africa, but for the world. Its outcomes should directly inform both the upcoming seventh meeting of the Board of the FRLD, which will take place from 7 to 9 October in Manila in the Philippines and COP 30, ensuring Africa’s climate agenda drives global action.

We hope to see African leaders calling on Brazil to include Loss and Damage as a priority for the upcoming COP 30. This is essential to capture the full spectrum of climate action from avoiding loss and damage, through mitigation and ensuring a just transition to adapting guided by a global goal on adaptation and finally to addressing those impacts that cannot be averted or minimised. We will look to Africa to call on the mobilisation of finance for mitigation, adaptation and Loss and Damage at the full scale and scope of the needs. While Africa’s leadership on climate change is proven, the finance must be provided by developed countries in the Global North whose historical responsibility is inscribed in the UNFCCC which underpins global climate action.

Africa’s leadership must be met with genuine global solidarity. The era of empty promises is over. What is needed now is decisive action, action that reflects the gravity of the crisis, the urgency of the moment and the dignity of those bearing the brunt of climate impacts. If the second Africa Climate Summit delivers on this promise, it will not only transform the continent’s climate trajectory but redefine the global fight for climate justice.