ACS2: Adaptation emerges as a priority climate action

ADAPTATION EMERGES AS A PRIORITY CLIMATE ACTION AGENDA FROM AFRICA CLIMATE SUMMIT

At the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that took place this last 8-10 September, African leaders committed to climate adaptation and expressed their desire to advance climate-resilient and adaptive solutions on the continent.

With the ever-escalating impacts of climate change on all sectors, and annual adaptation costs estimated in billions of dollars, African leaders overwhelmingly agreed to mobilise climate finance for adaptation to cut losses as some African nations are losing between 2-5% of their GDP to climate extremes, while climate extremes are forcing some countries to allocate up to 9% of their national budgets to disaster response.

“We emphasize that adaptation to climate change and disasters is Africa’s foremost priority. Thus, adaptation to climate change and disasters, access to clean water and sanitation, food and nutrition resilience, climate resilient cities and infrastructure, climate-resilient health systems and access to reliable energy, are among Africa’s priorities,” reads part of the summit declaration that leaders adopted.

African leaders further expressed concern with Africa’s growing adaptation finance needs of nearly US$ 84 billion per annum, with current flows falling short at just US$14 billion in 2021-2022, thereby widening the adaptation finance gap.

The leaders therefore “stressed that delivery of adaptation finance must avoid debt-creating instruments and be anchored in the reform of the international financial architecture, and call upon developed countries to take the lead in ensuring effective delivery of the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA).”

African Experts Reinforce State of Adaptation Reporting

African experts from government agencies, research institutions, regional bodies, international organisations, civil society, youth, media and the private sector, gathered in Addis Ababa, as part of pre-summit activities, to provide technical inputs to the State of African Adaptation Report (SoAR) spearheaded by the Africa Adaptation Initiative (AAI).

“Climate impacts in Africa are immediate, urgent, and intensifying—and because adaptation is about people’s safety, livelihoods, ecosystems, and economies today. Yet, too often, major reports about climate adaptation in Africa are authored by non-African experts and organizations. This matters. When Africa’s voice is peripheral, priorities can be misframed; and recommendations may be difficult to implement in our governance, fiscal and environmental context. That is why, for this report, African experts are the pen-holders,” said AAI Special Advisor, Kulthoum Omari Motsumi at the opening session of the workshop, highlighting the importance of African Experts’ involvement in shaping the continent’s adaptation agenda.

The SoAR process is convened by AAI, anchored by the African Union (AU) and the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN), and enabled by GIZ support. The flagship report provides an authoritative assessment of the status, progress, and challenges in climate adaptation across Africa. It is based on evidence grounded in African data systems and research networks, drawing on local case studies. Its analytical frame is aligned with Agenda 2063, national plans (NAPs, NDCs), regional strategies, and AGN negotiating priorities and the development in the UNFCCC global space. The chapters of SoAR 2025 are structured in line with the thematic sectors of the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), ensuring that it is useful and relevant to the global process. Globally, the GGA has set ambitious targets along the thematic areas that are important for the continent. Thus, the report will not only contribute to policy discourse, investment planning, but also to the global discussion and negotiations on the GGA.

Elevating Africa’s Adaptation Agenda with COP30 Presidency

Equally important in the discourse of climate adaptation is the leadership managing UNFCCC processes, and in this case, the COP30 President Designate.Thus, on the sidelines of the summit, African civil society—PACJA and AAI organized an informal gathering with COP30 President Designate, Ambassador André Aranha Corrêa do Lago to discuss adaptation as a priority for Africa. At the event, African leaders called on the COP30 Presidency to ensure that adaptation must not fail in Belem, pointing out the need for inclusion and adoption of means of implementation as a key indicator in the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) framework.

“We need to accelerate work on adaptation, including GGA. COP30 should agree on clear and tangible indicators that include means of implementation to advance our collective efforts towards the global goal on adaptation. We should reach a decision on support for the implementation of NAPs, and we need to see quantified numbers coming from our discussion in Belem,” said Dr. Richard Muyungi, Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN), noting that if anything else fails in Belem, “adaptation should not fail.”

And COP30 President Designate, Ambassador do Lago said “adaptation is absolutely central to climate action,” adding that the COP30 Presidency was ready, working with parties, to ensure a significant adaptation outcome in Belem.

AAI Coordinator, Amb. Seyni Nafo highlighted the importance of adaptation to Africa and why the African group pushed for adaptation to be elevated to the same level as mitigation.

“My key ask from the Presidency as a key outcome for COP30 is the Adaptation Fund replenishment; we need to see movement on this matter,” said Amb. Nafo.

AAI Side Events Highlight Importance of Resource Mobilisation Capacity

During side sessions organized by AAI and partners, the key highlight was the importance of African countries and institutional capacity to engage and mobilise adaptation finance at scale to support adaptation projects and programmes in Africa.

Ambassador Seyni Nafo, who is also co-chair of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board emphasized the need for continued capacity building efforts for African countries and institutions to develop bankable proposals.

“It is important to note that the GCF continues to reform to ease the process of access. However, as these efforts are on-going, it is important for capacity building efforts to continue to empower African countries and institutions to develop bankable proposals. At AAI, we are happy to be undertaking such efforts through projects such as the Pan-African Adaptation Project Incubator for Africa (APIA). More institutions must get involved and support Africa move to the next level in this adaptation financing agenda.”

The ACS2 was held under the theme, “Accelerating Global Climate Solutions: Financing for Africa's Resilient and Green Development.”

AAI Communication Team