Africa’s Climate Crisis: AfDB Steps Up With Bold Financing to Build Resilience

As the climate crisis intensifies across the globe, Africa stands at the frontline of vulnerability, bearing the brunt of extreme weather events—droughts, cyclones, floods, and rising temperatures. These phenomena are severely undermining agricultural production, food security, and livelihoods, while driving climate-induced migration and placing immense pressure on public resources. Startlingly, eight of the world's ten most climate-affected countries are in Africa, yet the continent receives less than 3% of global climate finance, despite climate change shaving off 7% to 15% of Africa's GDP annually.

With these harsh realities in view, the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has emerged as a pivotal actor in financing Africa's climate resilience and low-carbon development, mobilizing a wide array of climate finance mechanisms that support vulnerable communities, expand clean energy access, and strengthen national climate commitments under the Paris Agreement.

COP30: A Turning Point for Global Climate Action

The urgency of Africa's climate predicament takes on renewed significance as the world prepares for COP30, scheduled for 10–21 November 2025 in Belém, Brazil. The Amazonian host city is expected to welcome 50,000 to 60,000 delegates, including heads of state, climate experts, private sector leaders, and Indigenous communities. The conference will mark a decade since the adoption of the Paris Agreement and will focus on:

• Accelerating the global energy transition

• Promoting a just transition for vulnerable countries

• Scaling up climate finance for developing economies

Africa's position at this summit is expected to be forceful and united—demanding climate justice and equitable access to resources that will enable its nations to survive and thrive in a warming world.

African Development Bank's Climate Finance Toolbox

The AfDB has crafted a powerful climate finance architecture, offering direct, flexible, and catalytic funding to support adaptation, mitigation, and resilience-building across the continent.

1. Climate Investment Funds (CIF) – Longstanding Support

Since 2008, the CIF has supported:

• 47 investment plans

• 45 climate projects

• Over $1 billion in financing for AfDB-led initiatives

• An additional $2.42 billion in co-financing

One flagship example is the PIREDD-MBKIS project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, funded through the Forest Investment Program (FIP). Local farmer Dorcas Tshabu, once surrounded by savanna, now proudly oversees a 50-hectare forest she cultivated with CIF's help. This €21.5 million investment directly combats deforestation, supporting reforestation and sustainable livelihoods in Mbuji-Mayi and beyond.

2. Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) – Powering the Transition

Established in 2011, SEFA focuses on:

• Green baseload generation

• Mini-grid expansion

• Energy efficiency improvements

SEFA funds blended finance solutions that unlock private capital. For instance, in Zambia, SEFA contributed $8 million toward the 32 MW Ilute solar project, part of a $26.5 million package. The power generated will flow into the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) via GreenCo Power Services Ltd., demonstrating how market-based power purchase agreements can catalyze clean energy integration across borders.

3. Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF) – Grassroots Resilience

The ACCF, launched in 2014, has approved $40.64 million for 33 community-based projects.

In Djibouti, the Fund transformed dreams into reality for Assia Obakar Hassan in the remote village of Kalaf. Farming was once unimaginable in her region—but thanks to support from an AfDB-financed IGAD initiative, she now feeds her family from the land, symbolizing the climate-resilient transformation of rural livelihoods.

4. African Circular Economy Facility (ACEF) – Driving Innovation

Established in 2022, the ACEF champions green, circular economies. It is Africa's only trust fund dedicated solely to this cause, with support from Finland, the Nordic Development Fund, and The Coca-Cola Foundation.

In Rwanda, ACEF backs young entrepreneurs like Tresor Gashonga and Rafiki Gatsinzi, co-founders of Incuti Foods, which repurposes surplus agricultural produce into gourmet chili sauces—now served in Kigali's trendiest lounges. Their work reduces post-harvest waste and stabilizes farmer incomes, illustrating how circular models can succeed in both urban and rural economies.

5. Climate Action Window (CAW) – AfDB's New Lifeline for the Vulnerable

Launched in 2022, the Climate Action Window, under the African Development Fund, has $429 million in capital and aims to mobilize $4 billion by 2025 and $13 billion in the long term.

In 2024, the CAW disbursed over $31 million to Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Djibouti, and Madagascar, supporting:

• 720,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions reductions

• 180,000 new jobs, prioritizing women and youth

• Training for 90,000 farmers in climate-smart agriculture

"The Climate Action Window is more than just a financing mechanism; it is a lifeline for communities that face the harsh realities of climate change every day," said Anthony Nyong, Director of AfDB's Climate Change and Green Growth Department.

Coordinated Mechanisms: A Full Ecosystem of Solutions

The AfDB mobilizes a broad coalition of financing instruments and strategic initiatives, including:

Multilateral Climate Funds

• Global Environment Facility (GEF)

• Green Climate Fund (GCF)

• Climate Investment Funds (CIF)

AfDB-Hosted and Bilateral Trust Funds

• Africa Circular Economy Facility (ACEF)

• Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF)

• African Water Facility (AWF)

• Canada-AfDB Climate Fund (CACF)

• ClimDev Special Fund

• Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA)

• Transition Support Facility (TSF)

• Urban and Municipal Development Fund (UMDF)

Strategic Climate Initiatives

• Adaptation Benefit Mechanism (ABM)

• Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP)

• Africa Green Banks Initiative (AGBI)

• African Financial Alliance on Climate Change (AFAC)

• Desert to Power

• Great Green Wall Initiative

• Africa NDC Hub

• Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA)

• Green Investment Program for Africa (GIPA)

• Africa Climate Risk Insurance Framework (ACRIFA)

Africa's Climate Battle: A Global Responsibility

The AfDB's efforts send a clear signal ahead of COP30: Africa cannot face the climate crisis alone. It needs sustained, scalable, and just financial support to match the scale of its ambition. As nations converge in Belém this November, mobilizing large-scale climate finance for Africa must become more than rhetoric—it must become a reality.