The Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) ended in Addis Ababa with a promising message: Africa will no longer be the world’s climate victim, but the source of solutions for the regional and global economy.
The three-day summit in Ethiopia brought together more than 25,000 participants, including heads of state, global partners, farmers, youth leaders and innovators under the theme “Accelerating Global Climate Solutions: Financing for Africa’s Resilient and Green Development.”
The summit, building on the 2023 inaugural summit in Kenya, underscored Africa’s growing role in global climate solutions. African governments, financiers and grassroots leaders appeared aligned on narrative and strategy. The show of unity was expressed with the unanimous adoption of the Addis Ababa Declaration—a landmark call to action that places green investment and climate insurance at the centre of Africa’s survival and prosperity.
Homegrown climate solutions
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed set the stage with a bold proposal: the Africa Climate Innovation Compact (ACIC), designed to mobilise US$50 billion annually for homegrown climate solutions.
Speaking at the closing plenary, Abiy said: “We ask our partners not to fund us because we are impacted, but to invest with us because we are visionary. By 2030, this Compact will deliver 1,000 African solutions in energy, agriculture, water, transport, and resilience.”
The Compact will work alongside the newly created African Climate Facility (ACF), designed to channel bonds and innovative financial tools tailored to Africa’s needs. For Abiy, the shift is clear: Africa must move from climate aid to climate investment.
“Climate data is the new currency of power,” he stressed. “It is time to replace charity with capital, and pity with partnership.”
Climate insurance and risk financing
Beyond investment, leaders emphasised climate insurance and resilience financing, recognising that Africa, which loses an estimated $7-15 billion annually to climate impacts (according to the 2023 United Nations Economic Commission for Africa), must build protection mechanisms for its farmers, cities and communities. The $7-15 billion is projected to rise to as much as $50 billion per year by 2050 if climate action stalls.
The Addis Ababa Declaration committed to operationalising Africa-led insurance pools, including sovereign drought and flood insurance, to buffer economies against climate shocks. African leaders demanded that adaptation finance, currently a fraction of global flows, be treated as a legal obligation, not charity.
“Adaptation finance must come in the form of grants, not loans that worsen debt burdens,” the declaration reads. “Climate risk insurance is not optional for Africa, it is existential.”
The Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) 2.0, launched during ACS2, seeks to mobilise $50 billion by 2030 to climate-proof agriculture, infrastructure, and urban systems. This represents a key shift towards embedding climate insurance into Africa’s growth model.
Deal-making summit
Some of the deals struck during the summit are:
- The African Development Bank (AfDB), Afreximbank, Africa50 and Africa Finance Corporation signed a co-operation framework to operationalise the Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative (AGII), backed by $100 billion for renewable energy and green growth.
- Italy reaffirmed a $4.2 billion pledge to its climate fund, with 70% earmarked for Africa.
- Denmark committed $79 million to climate-smart agriculture.
- The European Investment Bank (EIB) signed deals with Ethiopian banks to facilitate part of its €100 billion ($117.35 billion) global green investment by 2027.
- The Climate Justice Impact Fund for Africa (CJIFA) reported disbursing 64 grants in 17 African countries to support grassroots climate solutions.
The Addis Ababa deals are building on the US$23 billion deals struck at the inaugural Africa climate summit in Nairobi where Africa set the stage for COP28 by adopting the Nairobi Declaration on climate change.
Crucially, in Ethiopia, leaders demanded Africa’s share of global renewable energy investments rise from the current 2% to at least 20% by 2030—a call reflecting research from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which shows Africa holds 60% of the world’s best solar resources but attracts only a trickle of global finance.
Green growth blueprint
At ACS2, African leaders made it clear that climate insurance cannot be divorced from green industrialisation. The push for a Green Minerals Strategy, ensuring cobalt, lithium and rare earths not only increase global clean tech but also benefit locals, signals Africa’s intent to rewrite extractive industry norms.
“Africa must not simply export its minerals for others to prosper,” said Akinwumi Adesina, president of AfDB. “We must insure our people against risks, but also insure our economies by adding value at home. Green growth and green insurance are two sides of the same coin.”
The closing of the Summit was more than symbolic—it positioned Africa as a key architect of the climate economy ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil. By adopting the Addis Ababa Declaration, Africa shifted its stance from a fragmented bloc to a unified force demanding fair finance, climate justice, and a seat at the decision-making table.
Research from the Climate Policy Initiative shows Africa needs $250 billion annually by 2030 to meet its climate goals, yet receives less than 12% of that amount today. If the commitments announced in Addis materialise, ACS2 could mark the moment when Africa began closing that gap on its own terms.
Call to action
As Abiy Ahmed told delegates in his closing remarks: “We are the first African generation with the means to heal what was broken, and the last with the time to do it. This is not charity. It is the most strategic investment humanity can make.”
With the ink on the Addis Ababa Declaration still drying, Africa’s challenge is now implementation, turning billions pledged into billions deployed, and ensuring climate insurance and green investment reach not only boardrooms, but also farmers, fisherfolk and families on the frontlines.
The Second Africa Climate Summit will be remembered not just for its scale but for its signal: Africa has claimed its place in the climate economy. With multi-billion-dollar green investment frameworks, bold insurance mechanisms, and a unified political declaration, Addis Ababa has placed the continent on the road to COP30 with confidence.
If Africa succeeds in raising its renewable energy investment share to 20% and embedding climate insurance into daily life, it will not only secure its survival but also redefine global climate leadership.
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