African experts are optimistic about substantial pledges for climate financing at the upcoming COP29 conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, hoping for meaningful commitments to support the continent's climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.

They expect significant financial resources to be mobilized to address the pressing climate challenges facing Africa.

"Many are excited that at COP29, the focus will be climate financing and we hope some big numbers will come out of the conversation," said Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, United Nations Assistant Secretary General (ASG) and Director General of the African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group.

He hopes for significant financial commitments to emerge from the discussions, as Africa requires about $3 trillion over the next 6-10 years to effectively adapt to climate change.

Ibrahima emphasized the significance of having a clear understanding of the financial requirements, stating, that it's crucial to have a precise grasp of the numbers, as the continent can't effectively solicit commitments from the international community without a clear understanding of exactly what resources are needed.

His optimism is shared by many experts, who eagerly await concrete funding pledges to support Africa's climate resilience efforts.

Via a Zoom interview with JoyNews Mohammed-Nurudeen, Ibrahima also stressed the importance of Africa taking ownership of its climate financing needs, indicating that mobilising domestic resources is crucial to effectively address the continent's climate challenges, rather than relying solely on international aid.

"Africa needs to mobilise domestic financing - is not just a matter of depending on the international community. We need to also make sure, our governments are part of the solutions," he said.

Africa’s climate finance shortfall

Africa is disproportionately affected by climate change, despite being a minor contributor to the problem.

However, the continent receives a meagre share of climate funding. Between 2010 and 2015, Africa only received 23% ($81 billion) of the total $212 billion climate funds, with Asia getting 48%.

The situation worsened between 2015 and 2020, with Africa receiving only $20 billion, followed by a significant decline in aid.

Again, adaptation finance decreased by 20% between 2020 and 2021. Experts said Africa's share of climate funding has dropped from 3% to 2.1%, further exacerbating the continent's climate vulnerability.

At the African Climate Roundtable in Johannesburg in May 2024, experts emphasized Africa's reliance on external funding due to a significant funding gap and advocated for increased private sector participation.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) noted that to bridge Africa's climate financing gap by 2030, an estimated $213.4 billion needs to be mobilized annually from the private sector to complement limited public resources.

“Africa received $4.2bn in private climate finance in 2019/2020, 14% of total climate finance flows of $29.5bn,” a communiqué said.

The African Climate Roundtable also emphasized that enhancing access, affordability, and availability of resources is crucial to ensure the efficient and effective implementation of climate initiatives in Africa.

Challenges that need to be addressed

According to experts, the most significant obstacle to climate action is the inadequate availability and accessibility of technical and financial resources required to support planned initiatives.

Even when climate finance is provided, its utilization is often hindered by low disbursement ratios, attributed to various challenges.

As climate adaptation and mitigation efforts expand and become more intricate, Ibrahima said there is a growing need to build capacity and momentum to implement initiatives and capitalise on available opportunities.

“Capacity building in terms of technology and infrastructure to reduce the capacity gap….The early warning system is one of the critical areas because it allows governments to make informed decisions,” she emphasized.

There is a limited capacity for essential disaster preparedness activities such as contingency planning and longer-term resilience building.

That’s why he said it is also important to help countries to put together investment plans, programs and proposals that are fundable.

About the African Climate Roundtable

The Africa Risk Capacity Group, in partnership with other African organizations and global stakeholders, organized a two-day post-COVID-19 Roundtable (28th edition) to discuss strategies for enhancing Disaster Risk Management and Financing initiatives in Africa.

The roundtable discussion was aimed at identifying scalable solutions ahead of the crucial COP29 meeting in November 2024, where global leaders will gather to address climate change and its associated risks.

The conveners of the two-day Roundtable included a diverse group of esteemed organizations, namely the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Africa Adaptation Initiative, African Capacity Building Foundation, Africa Guarantee Fund, Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), African Union Development Agency (AUDA)-NEPAD, Global Green Growth Institute, UN-Habitat and World Food Programme.

During the Roundtable, participants delved into various critical topics, including Africa's climate resilience and adaptation goals, climate finance and leadership issues, green investment opportunities in Africa, urban climate resilience strategies and other pertinent issues related to climate action in Africa.