Addis ababa: Africa has called for a new era of climate action rooted in justice, equity, and financial reform following the 13th Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-XIII) held in Addis Ababa ahead of the Second African Climate Summit.
According to Ethiopian News Agency, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the ECA, Claver Gatete, stated that this conference was not an end in itself but rather a bridge linking evidence with ambition, technical depth with political momentum, and Africa’s aspirations with actions. The objective was to shape the foundation for the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) and Africa’s common voice for COP30, closing with a coherent, investment-ready African climate agenda.
Key priorities were highlighted, such as adaptation, resilience, and loss and damage. Participants declared that adaptation must be central to global climate action. Gatete emphasized that Africa cannot bear the 160 billion USD annual adaptation gap alone, describing it as neither fair nor sustainable, and called for urgent, predictable, and scaled-up international support. The Loss and Damage Fund must be operationalized equitably, accessible to all, and responsive to both economic losses and the cultural and ecological heritage at risk.
The conference also demanded reforms to the international financial architecture to reduce Africa’s unjust borrowing costs, cancel or reschedule debt, and enhance innovative tools like debt-for-climate swaps, blended finance, green and blue bonds, fair credit ratings, and transparent, high-quality carbon markets that benefit Africa’s development agenda directly.
According to ECA’s Chief, with over 600 million Africans lacking electricity, the conference emphasized that the continent’s transition must be both “green and fair.” This involves harnessing critical minerals for local value addition, deploying a wide range of clean energy solutions, and prioritizing green jobs, particularly for women and youth.
Africa’s ecosystems, such as the Congo Basin, were acknowledged as global lifelines. The conference advocated for their protection through fair global valuation and investment, committing to expanding community-led stewardship and utilizing digital innovations to connect nature with other sectors like agriculture and forestry.