Calls to scale up climate finance for Africa

19 07 2025 | 19:21 GILBERT KOECH

Njenga said climate finance is not just a political choice – it is a matter of survival, development, dignity and equity.

Njenga said the impacts of climate change are happening in a constrained fiscal environment, where more is spent on debt servicing than on climate or health.
Africa is on the front lines of the climate crisis, losing up to nine per cent of its GDP annually to climate impacts, while trillions of dollars are needed to meet energy, adaptation and resilience goals.
UN Climate Change director Cecilia Njenga has reiterated the urgency of scaling up climate finance to support Africa’s adaptation and resilience efforts.

“Africa is not short of ambition or solutions… We must shift from shortfalls to delivery of finance,” Njenga said.

Speaking at the AMCEN Ministerial Dialogue, Njenga said climate finance is not just a political choice – it is a matter of survival, development, dignity and equity.

Njenga said the impacts of climate change are happening in a constrained fiscal environment, where more is spent on debt servicing than on climate or health.

Africa is on the front lines of the climate crisis, losing up to nine per cent of its GDP annually to climate impacts, while trillions of dollars are needed to meet energy, adaptation and resilience goals.

This challenge is compounded by a constrained fiscal environment where, in many countries, more is spent on debt servicing than on climate or health.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is working to strengthen institutional frameworks that can help African countries access sustainable climate finance.
At last year’s COP29 Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, all nations reached an agreement on a new climate finance goal of $300 billion annually by 2030 to flow to developing countries, to be scaled up to $1.3 trillion by 2035.

“The $300 billion must be a floor, not a ceiling – and it must translate into predictable, accessible finance for those who need it most,” Njenga said.

“We are working to ensure climate finance architecture responds to African priorities.”

Njenga said there is a need to shift from cycles of shortfalls to cycles of delivery.

AMCEN started on July 14 to 18 under the theme “Four Decades of Environmental Action in Africa: Reflecting on the Past and Imagining the Future”.

Environment CS Deborah Barasa said the discussions around sustainable and climate-resilient financing highlighted the urgent need for innovative approaches and the importance of aligning national budgets to meet climate challenges, even as global development assistance becomes uncertain.

“Together, we have forged a unified African stance ahead of key international meetings, like the upcoming COP 30, Ramsar COP, and UNEA-7.”