GCA report reveals funding crisis for climate adaptation in Africa Global leaders must act to close the investment gap

President Macky Sall’s bold leadership is vital for accelerating global action on climate adaptation ahead of the Africa Adaptation Summit on 5 September 2022, Dr. Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation said in closing remarks at the Presidential Palace in Dakar, after a high-level meeting on Wednesday hosted by President Macky Sall of Senegal, Chair of the African Union.

The Africa Adaptation Summit will convene global leaders at the headquarters of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) in Rotterdam, Netherlands, marking a milestone leading into the landmark ‘African COP’ at Sharm El-Sheikh in November.

At the Summit, global leaders are prioritizing the mobilization of adaptation finance to accelerate adaptation action for Africa through the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP). Endorsed by the African Union, the AAAP lays the foundation for economic growth and job creation through climate adaptation.

“The long-predicted climate emergency is here, and it is amplifying the global food, fuel, and fiscal crisis created by Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine. Africans have contributed almost nothing to creating climate change, yet this continent is suffering far more than other regions of the planet”, said President Macky Sall.

“The Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program is Africa’s plan that will unlock adaptation finance for food security, resilient infrastructure, and adaptation jobs in Africa. At the Africa Adaptation Summit, it is vital that the international community delivers on its pledge to double adaptation finance and to scale adaptation action for Africa through the AAAP”, he emphasized.

The gap in adaptation finance for Africa is underlined by GCA’s new report on Financial Innovation for Climate Adaptation in Africa, which highlights that cumulative adaptation finance to 2030 will come to less than one-quarter of the estimated needs stated by African countries in their National Determined Contributions (NDCs).

According to the report, in 2019 and 2020 an estimated $11.4 billion was committed to climate adaptation finance in Africa with more than 97% of the funds coming from public actors and less than 3% from private sectors. This is significantly less than the $52.7 billion annually to 2030 it is estimated African countries will need... Read more on Kapital Afrik

Source: Kapital Afrik