Analysis of the problem
Access to climate finance is an important enabling factor for African continent to address climate change. Africa’s 1.4 billion people contribute less than 3% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, but the continent finds itself on the frontline of this climate emergency with nine out of the ten most vulnerable countries being in Africa (KPMG, 2023). In 2009, developed countries agreed to mobilize USD 100 billion annually by 2020 to support climate action in developing countries. In 2015, under the Paris Agreement, Parties agreed to extend this goal out to 2025 and to set a new finance goal, from a floor of USD 100 billion per year, for after 2025 taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries (UNFCCC,2024).
This goal is yet to be met as only 30 billion flowed into the continent in the year 2020, thus creating a huge deficit of USD 70 billion (Climate Policy Initiative, Children investment Fund Foundation, FSD Africa and UKaid, 2022).
The ND-GAIN 2018 index indicated that 30 out of the world›s 40 most climate-vulnerable countries are in Africa, putting local populations at high risk of severe climate events impacting their health and well-being as well as the productivity of the economy. There is an urgent developmental challenge with the potential to derail progress toward achieving all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa. From Morocco to Kenya, the poor, and especially women and children, are the hardest hit by the impact of climate change as they rely on natural resources and ecosystems for their livelihoods. Regardless of the above, reports by Kenya’s National Treasury and Planning in 2021, Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) in 2022, and Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) in 2021 indicated that Africa needs approximately USD 2.8 trillion, or USD 250 billion each year, between 2020 and 2030, to implement its updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The CPI report indicated that the total annual climate finance flows into Africa for financial year 2020 from domestic and international sources, was only USD 30 billion, just 12% of the amount needed. The financing gap is significant as all African countries together have a GDP of USD 2.4 trillion (World Bank 2021), implying that 10% of Africa’s current annual GDP needs to be mobilized above and beyond current flows every year for the next 10 years.
This analysis is based on 51 out of 53 African countries that provided data on the costs of implementing their NDCs. Collectively, they represent more than 93% of Africa’s GDP. Adaptation accounted for less than 24% of total climate finance flows to Africa, despite Africa being highly vulnerable to climate change, hence, the need for a concerted effort for an increased flow of climate finance to Africa, and a better balance of finance between mitigation and adaptation
African countries are yet to significantly benefit from climate finance to support to the devastating impacts of climate change. It is, therefore, critical for African countries to come together under a coordinated platform for Technical issues to champion the need for increased mobilization of climate finance for locally- led Climate Actions and advocate for ambitious financial commitments to support local actions in Africa.
The platform will act as a key peer review mechanism to spearhead implementation and execution of programmes. Further recalling that the outcomes of COP 26, COP 27 and COP 28 were significant in the implementation pathways for adaptation, resilience and climate disaster management at all levels of governance, and to the benefit of communities and associated vulnerable populace. These global climate discourses have pitched attention on means of implementation as a way of achieving the balance between mitigation and adaptation processes. Further, the discussions have yielded a dedicated fund for loss and damage which is hosted in the interim period by the World Bank, along with significant new pledges to the Adaptation Fund, the establishment of secretariat and advisory board towards operationalization of Santiago Network on Loss and damage, development of the framework on global goal on adaptation, and the Report of the first Global Stock Take (GST). It is upon this premise that AfDAN is a critical vehicle for accelerated access and enhanced mobilization of climate finance at scale.