AFRICAN LEADERS PUSH $100bn GREEN INVESTMENT PLAN AT CLIMATE SUMMIT IN ETHIOPIA
Continent seeks to position itself as model for sustainable growth amid global financing gaps
African leaders on Monday pledged to transform the continent into a global model for tackling the climate crisis through green investments, even as Africa continues to receive only 1% of annual global climate finance.
Speaking at the Second Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared: “We are not here to negotiate our survival. We are here to design the world’s next climate economy.”
Kenyan President William Ruto announced a major funding agreement involving the African Development Bank, Afreximbank, Ecobank, and KCB Group, aimed at mobilising over $100 billion for renewable energy and green industrialisation.
Abiy also unveiled an African Climate Innovation Compact, which will bring together universities, startups, and local communities to deliver 1,000 homegrown climate solutions by 2030. He further reiterated Ethiopia’s bid to host COP32 in 2027.
Despite repeated pledges, African countries remain underfunded, even though they are among the most vulnerable to climate shocks such as floods, droughts, and landslides. Officials stressed the need for climate finance that is “fair, significant, and predictable.”
Ruto criticised Western countries for failing to meet climate commitments, calling it a breach of what he described as a “climate blood pact.”
The summit’s final declaration will form Africa’s common position at the upcoming COP30 talks in Brazil later this year.
Source: Reuters
