African leaders unveiled efforts aimed at driving nearly $300 billion in investments to power the continent’s green energy transition, but said more was needed to address urgent climate challenges.
Speaking at the second ever African climate summit in Addis Ababa this week, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the African Union Commission’s chair, said “climate finance must be fair, significant, and predictable.” He called for the creation of a “genuine fund for loss and damage” — a persistent demand that richer nations provide financial resources for poorer ones that are often more vulnerable to climate impacts. Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Kenya’s President William Ruto, who hosted the inaugural summit in 2023, framed their calls for climate action as economic development agendas.
African banks including the African Export-Import Bank signed an agreement to mobilize $100 billion for “green industrialisation” on the continent during the summit. Two other programs were also launched: the Continental Energy Programme in Africa, to be funded by the European Union, and Engaging for Africa’s Green Energy Transition, backed by Germany’s economic cooperation ministry. Both are part of a broader investment initiative to generate €150 billion ($176 billion) for Africa’s green and digital transition.