Africa’s Climate Ambition Warrants Tangible Global Support: Minister Fitsum

Addis Ababa, July 9, 2025 (FMC) — Africa’s climate ambition, grounded in bold homegrown initiatives and strategic resilience efforts, must be matched by concrete international support, Ethiopia’s Minister of Planning and Development, Dr. Fitsum Assefa, emphasized today.

Speaking at a high-level United Nations Roundtable on Resource Mobilization for the upcoming Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2), Minister Fitsum called on developed nations to triple their climate finance commitments, especially in light of Africa’s disproportionate vulnerability to climate change despite contributing less than 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

“Africa faces the gravest consequences of a crisis it did not cause — from prolonged droughts and floods to desert locust invasions — and it is only just that support mechanisms reflect this reality,” the Minister stressed.

She cited alarming data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), revealing a 34 percent drop in agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa since the 1960s — a sobering trend affecting the 60 percent of the population reliant on rain-fed agriculture.

Despite these challenges, Fitsum spotlighted Africa’s leadership in crafting and implementing climate solutions. Ethiopia, she said, has led by example — from being an early signatory of the Copenhagen Accord in 2009 to launching its Climate Resilient Green Economy Strategy in 2011, years ahead of the Paris Agreement.

She also highlighted the Green Legacy Initiative, which has resulted in the planting of over 40 billion trees in six years, as well as Ethiopia’s advances in renewable energy, e-mobility, and corridor development as evidence of a genuine commitment to sustainable development.

“These African-led solutions — whether nature-based or technology-driven — deserve not only recognition but also scaled-up technical and financial support from the global community,” the Minister asserted. “Africa’s climate ambition must be reciprocated by tangible global action.”

Also addressing the roundtable, Dr. Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), echoed this call. She pointed to the dual burden of climate shocks and financial constraints confronting African nations — including rising debt distress, high capital costs, and widening development finance gaps.

Dr. Morsy affirmed that the vision and theme of ACS2 rightly position Africa not as a victim but as a global provider of climate solutions. “This is not just rhetoric,” she said, citing transformative initiatives such as Ethiopia’s Green Legacy, the continent-wide AFR100 (African Forest Restoration Initiative), green and blue bond financing, and locally driven adaptation projects.

ACS2, she noted, must become a powerful platform for repositioning Africa as a climate innovator and solution hub, thus ensuring the continent plays a decisive role in reshaping climate negotiations, governance, and financial mechanisms.

“This is Africa’s moment — not only to be heard, but to lead,” she concluded. UNECA, she affirmed, is fully committed to supporting ACS2’s success and its long-term agenda, including through active participation in the summit’s Content and Program Committee and resource mobilization efforts.

The Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2), jointly convened by Ethiopia and the African Union Commission, will be held from September 8–10, 2025 in Addis Ababa.

It aims to mobilize greater climate finance for Africa’s green transition, amplify African voices in the global climate architecture, and showcase the continent’s innovative solutions that are already transforming the landscape of climate resilience and sustainability.

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