Africa Needs Capital, Not More Climate Pledges

Daftar Isi

A New Era for Africa's Climate Leadership

The first Africa Climate Summit, held in Nairobi in 2023, marked a significant shift in the continent’s approach to climate action. It ignited a movement towards a more collaborative, climate-resilient, and prosperous Africa. This year, as leaders convened in Addis Ababa for the second summit, the message was clear: it is time to move beyond promises and focus on tangible actions, investments, and capital to unlock Africa’s green potential.

The landmark summit in Kenya highlighted the urgent stakes of climate change, which threatens communities, economies, and investments across all sectors and continents. However, it also shifted the global narrative by positioning Africa not as a passive victim of climate change but as a proactive driver of solutions. The event mobilized numerous pledges and macro-economic commitments aimed at fostering climate-positive growth, showcasing the continent’s green advantage and its critical role in achieving global net-zero targets.

As the world heads towards COP30, this year’s summit has outlined clear actions for the interconnected climate and investment agendas. African leaders have agreed on a common set of benchmarks for cooperation with international partners, especially in light of the upcoming 7th African Union – European Union Summit in Luanda this November.

Since the Nairobi summit, the world has experienced deepening geopolitical and economic shifts, leading to fragmentation and a misguided belief that minimizing international collaboration serves individual countries’ strategic interests best. This trend must be challenged. Common challenges require shared leadership. As the AU-EU partnership celebrates its 25th anniversary, it must continue to act as both a stabilizing force and a multiplier of progress for climate and development.

We understand the steps necessary to fulfill the promises of the first Africa Climate Summit. At the Financing for Development Conference in Seville this July, Brazil’s COP30 President Designate, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, emphasized the need to transition from negotiation to implementation.

Africa, as a powerhouse for global climate solutions, possesses vast strategic assets. These include 60% of the world’s best solar resources, 60% of remaining arable land, 40% of critical mineral reserves, a blue economy generating $300 billion annually with potential to exceed $1 trillion, a strong social fabric supported by women and their associations, and a projected youth population that will account for 40% of the world’s youth by 2030. These are not theoretical advantages but the foundations of a global green economy. That’s why Africa’s message is clear: we will collaborate to unlock the right type and scale of capital and ensure market access so that climate action is undertaken where it makes most sense.

For too long, inefficient global processes have hindered Africa from realizing its full green potential. Access to affordable finance is constrained by outdated eligibility rules, high capital costs, and debt burdens that punish climate-vulnerable nations. This needs to be reversed to secure the reforms needed to unlock Africa’s natural advantages and accelerate a just, climate-positive growth model.

Three Priorities for Action

First, strengthen African agency.
This means ensuring the continent shapes the rules that affect its future by having a seat at the table when decisions are made on trade standards and green industrial policies. It also involves mobilizing more domestic capital and designing country-led investment plans that reflect local priorities. Community leadership is crucial in developing and scaling climate solutions, leveraging traditional knowledge, and empowering networks of women and youth as champions. Too many projects are stalled by capacity gaps, high borrowing costs, currency risks, and regulatory bottlenecks. Fixing these barriers is foundational to securing finance and translating it into impact.

Second, build coalitions that deliver.
Africa’s growth depends on partnerships that go beyond words. Stronger industrial ties between African and European economies will be central. To succeed, governments, development banks, and financial institutions must move beyond statements and design tools—such as guarantees and blended finance—that unlock real investment. System-level shifts will also be critical: phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, addressing non-tariff barriers, and ensuring heavy emitters contribute their fair share through solidarity levies.

Third, reform global finance.
Africa cannot achieve its green transition while trapped in an outdated system that punishes vulnerable nations. Eligibility for concessional finance must reflect climate vulnerability, not just income status. Changes to IMF quotas and World Bank voting power must give African countries a real voice. And debt treatment must improve, suspending payments when shocks hit and integrating climate resilience into debt sustainability assessments. Without these reforms, Africa will remain locked out of the capital it needs.

What unites these priorities is a single truth: Africa’s green potential is also the world’s best chance of meeting net zero. Following the summit, this is the chance to put that vision into practice—setting the tone for bold, forward-looking, win-win cooperation on the road to COP30 and the 7th AU-EU Summit in Luanda.

Collaboration is therefore not only preferable but essential.