The Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) in Ethiopia

Africa Climate summit asserts continent’s active role in global climate action. The second Africa climate summit in Ethiopia provides an opportunity to unify the continent’s voice in global climate action

As the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS-2) takes shape in Ethiopia to address the impacts of global warming and assert the continent's active role in climate action solutions, the meeting shifts the narrative that Africa is merely a soft touch of the climate crisis, waiting for donors to save it. The continent is shaping its own future and becoming part of the solution, showcasing Africa-led climate solutions, and ensuring that the global goal of adaptation is matched with sufficient financing. In the next five years, Africa will require nearly USD 3 trillion for climate financing; however, the funds received in 2021-2022 is about 20 percent, indicating the massive gap between the available funds against those required for the continent. With African governments committed to mobilizing about 10 percent domestically, an immense gap of approximately 80 percent still remains unavailable, yet is required to achieve climate mitigation and adaptation targets.

This significant gap means promoting new financial instruments that work for African contexts, while tackling barriers in access to available finances. Effectively, African nations’ climate finance planning and budgeting need to align national priorities with scalable and bankable climate investments, to enable countries to attract both domestic and international funds. Clearly, the current grant-based climate finance does not align with the African priorities, and also grants are not smoothly accessible to deliver real value to African countries.

Solutions

Although the African continent is responsible for less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it bears a disproportionate burden from the impacts of climate change. The continent is investing in scalable technological solutions to help fast-track climate change mitigation. These include digital climate-smart agriculture platforms, remote sensing for forest monitoring, solar-powered irrigation systems, and regional power pools to enhance electric connectivity and cross-border renewable energy trade.

Among others are Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative, planting 40 billion seedlings between 2019 and 2023, Kenya’s commitment to 100% renewable energy by 2030, in addition to its climate action projects implemented in Kakuma refugee camp, with funding from Education Above All (EAA), Uganda’s comprehensive climate change policy framework aimed at transforming the country into a climate-resilient, low-carbon society by 2050. This framework includes the National Climate Change Policy, the Democratic Republic of Congo's efforts to conserve the Congo Basin, and the Great Green Wall initiative, restoring 100 million hectares of degraded land and sequestering 250 million tons of carbon across the Sahel, exemplifying proactive measures.

Although these home-grown efforts often exceed Africa’s fair share, building long-term adaptive capacity and safeguarding sustainable development against climate shocks demands even more. Notably, it includes strategic investments in early warning systems, which improve preparedness and reduce the impact of climate-related hazards, as well as fortifying climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, availing climate-resilient seeds and livestock breeding systems, resilient infrastructure such as buildings, roads, and water systems, alongside local governance institutions that underpin both rural livelihoods and urban stability.

By investing in and strengthening such climate services, Africa will be able to significantly absorb climate shocks and as well reduce the costs of climate-related damage. Attention should also be given to building the capacity of communities on the continent to adopt innovation-driven solutions such as renewable energy, carbon capture, and improved agricultural practices, that can directly reduce emissions and enhance adaptation capabilities.

Additionally, private sector participation in climate action plays a significant role in raising the required finances and achieving climate targets. African nations should attract private investment, as well as support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are constrained by access to resources but have massive growth potential and manage climate finance.

The climate summit provides an opportunity to unify Africa's voice in global climate action, championing implementation of African-led climate solutions, leveraging private sector investment, and advocating for sustainable, equitable and fairer international climate financing.

References

The Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) https://africaclimatesummit2.et/

African Union, Second Africa Climate Summit https://au.int/en/newsevents/20250908/second-africa-climate-summit

the Africa-Europe Foundation (AEF) https://www.africaeuropefoundation.org/areas-of-action/aef-at-the-second-african-climate-summit/

Curbing Climate Change in Uganda https://www.michaelsilwanyi.org/curbing-climate-change-in-uganda-through-agroforestry/