By Kei Emmanuel Duku
At the second Africa Climate Summit, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed urged the world’s biggest polluters to prioritize climate project investments in Africa instead of providing short-term financial aid.
Speaking to regional and global leaders, Ahmed called for a shift from climate aid to investment to achieve immediate returns such as job creation, enhanced food and regional security, and reduced carbon emissions. This, he noted, could be achieved through investments in clean energy technologies and smart agriculture.
Ahmed stated that Africa contributes less than 4% of global carbon emissions yet suffers most from the impact of climate-related disasters.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, more than 110 million people on the continent are directly affected by weather, climate, and water-related hazards in 2022, leading to over 5,000 reported fatalities, primarily from drought and flooding.
The United Nations warns that up to 118 million people in Africa living in extreme poverty (on less than US$1.90 per day) could be exposed to drought, floods, and extreme heat by 2030 if adequate measures are not taken.
The report further notes that climate change deepens poverty and food insecurity, with over 200 million people at risk of severe hunger in the long term.
It is estimated that African nations lose an average of 2-5% of their Gross Domestic Product annually due to climate change. For example, the cost of adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa alone is projected to reach between $30 billion and $50 billion annually over the next decade.
Ahmed believes that with the right investment, Africa can find solutions to restore its degraded land, capture carbon through the vast natural vegetation, tropical forest, mangroves, and produce clean power from the continent’s minerals. “Africa did not cause this crisis, but we already know what needs to be done,” he said. “Now is the time to scale what works. Now is the time to accelerate our collective action. This is not charity. It is the most strategic investment humanity can make.”
He highlighted Ethiopia’s initiatives as examples of what can be achieved with vision and community effort. The country’s Green Legacy Initiative, launched in 2019, and has led to the planting of over 48 billion seedlings, which have helped cool the land, protect soil, restore watersheds, and create jobs. Through programs like Yelema Turrufat (“Bounty of the Basket”) and the Climate Resilient Wheat Initiative, Ethiopia is transforming its food systems, reducing imports, and increasing rural incomes using climate-smart irrigation and sustainable practices.
“These are African solutions to global food and climate challenges,” Ahmed said. “When Africa’s land heals, when our rivers run clean, and our air is fresh, Africa wins, and the whole world breathes easier. We are the first African generation with the means to heal what was broken, and the last with the time to do it.”
Ahmed called for a “Climate Innovation Compact,” a bold continent-wide partnership funded and owned by Africans in partnership with the world. This compact, he said, would not only meet the continent’s own needs but also boost exports and advance pan-African prosperity.
He also emphasized the importance of “climate data sovereignty,” allowing African nations to map their own forests, measure their own carbon, and price their own ecosystems, calling climate data the “new currency of power.”
Kenyan President William Ruto, who is also the chair of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC), urged the international community to dismantle structural barriers that prevent the continent from accessing climate finance.
He noted that Africa is already stepping up by implementing policies to attract investment, reward innovation, and ensure fair value for the continent’s resources. “Africans are also bridging previously siloed debates, including linking debt, fiscal space, nature, and climate to craft systemic and coordinated solutions,” Ruto stated.
He highlighted institutional and regional mechanisms like the Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions, AFRI Exim, and the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as examples of Africa’s progress.
Ruto added that linking these initiatives with accelerated partnerships for renewables would ensure the right investments to drive progress in both energy and industry. He also emphasized that African countries need to deepen fiscal discipline, accelerate trade integration, and improve governance.
However, he stressed that Western countries have a responsibility to lower the cost of capital through reforms at global financial institutions, expand concessional flows, and open global markets to Africa’s value-added goods. “Our global partners, must be held accountable… many assume that for some to win, others must lose,” he added.
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud noted that his country is one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, suffering from recurrent droughts and floods. He recalled that a severe drought between 2021 and 2023 affected 7.8 million people, or nearly half the country’s population, resulting in widespread food insecurity and displacement.
Mohamud called for a move from pledges to predictable disbursements of climate finance, which should be aligned with nationally led priorities to support vulnerable communities. He noted that Somalia’s debt-to-GDP ratio has dropped significantly, and the country is now focused on increasing domestic revenue and creating a conducive investment environment.
He mentioned that Somalia has established a National Climate Fund and is engaging with the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility.
He estimated that the country requires $6.3 million by the end of 2025 to cover adaptation plans under its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC-3), including climate-smart agriculture, water security, and clean energy access. He called for the operationalization of the loss and damage fund, elevating Africa’s role in carbon markets, and a commitment to the $100 billion anchored in the Nairobi Declaration.
“African nations are among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, suffering from recurrent climate shocks that are painful to endure,” Mohamud concluded, adding that with targeted, affordable finance, local communities are already leading solutions.
African countries face a range of severe and interconnected climate challenges, including drought, flooding, desertification, food insecurity, and loss of biodiversity. These challenges are often compounded by economic hardship and displacement, leading to increased humanitarian crises and social instability.
These climate shocks disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, deepening poverty and hindering sustainable development across the continent.