COP 30: Climate finance remains Africa’s top priority

African climate negotiators have outlined a unified set of priorities for the major UN climate change conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, highlighting climate finance as top priority.

 

Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN), Dr. Richard Muyungi, says COP30 must deliver “ambitious, balanced, fair and just outcomes across adaptation, mitigation, loss and damage, and climate finance,” emphasizing that negotiations must be anchored in the latest science and the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR–RC).

 

He warned that despite contributing less than 4% of global emissions, Africa faces rapidly intensifying climate impacts and requires outcomes that reflect its “special needs, developmental context, and heightened vulnerability.”

 

The negotiators called for a clear alignment between financing flows and the ambition reflected in countries’ next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs 3.0).

 

Key demands include concrete steps to operationalise US$1.3 trillion annually by 2030 and the US$300 billion climate finance goal.

 

This year’s global climate summit kicked off in the Amazonian city of Belém in Brazil, amid a warning from United Nations Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, that the world is not doing enough to combat the crisis, and strategic compromises over the elements of the official agenda of the summit.

 

At the opening plenary, the UN climate chief said the world is not moving fast enough to confront the climate crisis but was quick to note that global cooperation had at least prevented “an impossible future” of runaway heating.

 

“We have so much more work to do. We must move much, much faster; both in reducing emissions and in strengthening resilience,” he told delegates.

 

Stiell credited the Paris Agreement, adopted 10 years ago, with bending the curve of projected global heating from as high as 5°C to below 3°C, saying “it is still perilous, but it proves that climate cooperation works”.

 

He said success now depends on two interlinked pillars: stronger, more credible national climate plans, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs); and the financing to make them possible.

 

“Plans without finance cannot reach their full potential,” he said.

 

Finance is the great accelerator

 

Stiell pointed to the Baku to Belém Roadmap, a new initiative that seeks to increase global climate finance from about US$300 billion a year to US$1.3 trillion by 2035, describing it as a shared investment in “stability and prosperity” and noting that countries acting fastest on clean energy would reap the greatest economic benefits.

 

“Every dollar invested in climate solutions brings multiple dividends; jobs, cleaner air, better health, resilient supply chains, and stronger energy and food security,” he said.

 

Supporters hailed the roadmap as an ambitious but necessary step to close the gap between climate pledges and real-world funding.

 

Brazil, hosting COP30 under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, described the roadmap as “a blueprint for collective resolve.” The Brazilian delegation urged negotiators to focus on fairness and delivery rather than rhetoric.

 

 “The science is clear, the moral imperative undeniable. What remains is the resolve,” they said.

 

Mohamed Adow, founder and director, Power Shift Africa, said: “COP30 must deliver the priorities for Africa and the wider developing world which are clear: we need a fair deal that delivers finance for adaptation in vulnerable countries and supports a just transition to renewable energy.

 

“These are not acts of charity, but investments in a stable, liveable planet. We need to see the sharing of clean energy technology by the global north with the global south, and we need to see more national climate plans published by all countries, laying out how we’re going to accelerate the momentum towards a safe and prosperous planet for us all.”

 

Over the next two weeks, the COP30 Presidency is understood to be positioning the summit as a political reckoning that will test whether the Paris Agreement, the crown jewel of international climate diplomacy, can still deliver results at scale.

 

Growing fatigue in climate process

 

Since 2015, global emissions have plateaued but not fallen fast enough. The 1.5°C target, the threshold scientists warn the world must stay below to avoid catastrophic consequences, is slipping out of reach.

 

The Belém conference comes amid growing fatigue and distrust in the global climate process, particularly over financing and equity. The Baku to Belém Roadmap aims to restore faith by setting a long-term financing goal, but key questions remain unanswered: who pays, how much, and under what terms.

 

Omar Elmawi, Convenor of the Africa Movement of Movements, noted: “We cannot keep sailing blindly into a climate apocalypse while pretending everything is merry. COP30 must be the turning point, where words become action, and promises become justice. Over eight billion people globally are looking at Belém to be the moment we will all look back to and celebrate and not one we curse.”

 

For Africa, COP30 is a moment of reckoning. The continent contributes less than 4 per cent of global emissions but bears the heaviest costs of climate change, from droughts and cyclones to collapsing agricultural yields and energy insecurity.

 

African negotiators have consistently argued that without predictable, affordable finance, developing nations cannot deliver on their commitments. The Baku to Belém Roadmap could be transformative if implemented fairly, ensuring that new funds reach life-saving adaptation projects in vulnerable communities, not just emissions reductions in middle-income economies.

 

African countries are also demanding a rebalancing of the climate finance equation to include more grants, fewer debt-driven instruments, and direct access for local governments and institutions.

 

The hope is that the roadmap will address long-standing inequalities that have left Africa sidelined when it comes to green investment.

 

 

UN Climate Change calls for urgent action to scale up climate finance at African Ministerial Dialogue

UN Climate Change director, Cecilia Kinuthia-Njenga, has reiterated the urgency of scaling up climate finance to support Africa’s adaptation and resilience efforts.

 

Speaking on the margins of the 20th Ordinary Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), she underscored that “Climate finance is not just a political choice – it is a matter of survival, of development, of dignity and of equity.”

 

At last year’s COP29 Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, all nations reached an agreement on a new climate finance goal of USD300 billion annually by 2030 to flow to developing countries, to be scaled up to USD 1.3 trillion by 2035.

 

“The $300 billion must be a floor, not a ceiling – and it must translate into predictable, accessible finance for those who need it most,” stressed Cecilia.

 

According to her, the UNFCCC is working to strengthen institutional frameworks that can help African countries access sustainable climate finance.

 

“We are working to ensure that climate finance architecture responds to African priorities,” she said.

 

Africa is on the frontlines of the climate crisis, losing up to 9% of its GDP annually to climate impacts, while trillions of dollars are needed to meet energy, adaptation, and resilience goals. This challenge is compounded by a constrained fiscal environment where, in many countries, more is spent on debt servicing than on climate or health.

 

Leaders and stakeholders gathered at the United Nations Office in Nairobi, in Kenya, to mark the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, a landmark accord that has shaped global climate policy for the past decade.

 

Cecilia Kinuthia-Njenga, who is director at the UNFCCC Intergovernmental Support and Collective Progress Division, stressed that “the Paris Agreement is delivering real progress, even if it has not yet solved the climate crisis.  But it has changed the course of human history. It has proved that climate cooperation can deliver when it matters most.”

 

Over the past decade, the Paris Agreement has guided unprecedented climate action, yet the world remains off track to limit warming to 1.5°C, but “without Paris, we’d still be heading for over 5 degrees of warming.”

 

The impacts of the rising temperature, extreme weather, droughts, floods, and loss of livelihoods are still a reality, particularly in Africa, the region most vulnerable to climate change despite contributing the least to the problem.

 

“Because African countries are not just on the frontlines of climate impacts: they are also on the frontlines of climate solutions,” Cecilia told the AMCEN Ministerial Dialogue.

 

The event concluded with a call to strengthen collaboration ahead of COP30, ensuring Africa’s priorities shape global climate action and the next Global Stocktake.

 

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

Clear and strong climate policies are antidote to economic uncertainty – UN Climate Chief

Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, Simon Stiell, says clear and strong climate policies are an antidote to trade and economic uncertainty.

 

He believes climate policy can help get trade flowing and economies growing, while preventing wildly destructive climate impacts. 

 

Speaking at the 2025 Nature Summit in Panamá City, Panamá, he noted that a new generation of national climate plans are essential all around the world.

 

He says these plans, when well implemented through the right political leadership, can attract a bonanza of benefits, including more jobs, more revenue and a virtuous cycle of increased investment.

 

“In the past, climate plans have often focused mainly on cuts - cuts to greenhouse gas emissions and to old-fashioned energy. This new generation of climate plans are really about growth. Growing industries and economies. And building a better future. One where nature is protected, and where people have better opportunities,” he stated. 

 

Decarbonization

 

Amid all the crisis and trade disruption, the UN Climate Change chief says there is also good news of clean energy projects in pipelines across the globe.

 

“Investors have their fingers on the button - waiting to push go on multi-billion-dollar commitments that will make lives better,” Simon Stiell.

 

He says the political and policy signals from almost all of the world’s largest economies are very clear: global decarbonization is unstoppable and continues to gather pace and scale. 

 

More than 90% of new energy last year was renewable – from rapid technological advancements in Electric Vehicle charging, to breakthroughs in energy storage, as the costs of wind, solar, and so many more clean technologies keep coming down.  

 

Brazil is putting nature at the heart of their climate plan; Germany is promising to invest billions in climate action to increase security; and China, for the first time, will set a new national climate target that covers every greenhouse gas and sector of the economy. 

 

“This isn’t only because of their better environmental angels. It’s because global decarbonization is the biggest economic transformation of our age, making it one of the biggest commercial opportunities we’ve ever seen,” said Simon Stiell.

 

Cooperation for more prosperity

 

Every country wants to take advantage of a $2 trillion clean energy market, said the UN Climate chief.

 

“While competition is a good thing, now is not the time for zero-sum thinking. We need to work together to ensure that everyone benefits. That new markets open and new trade routes form. 

 

“We simply cannot afford a two-speed transition, where some countries race ahead with clean energy and climate resilience and leave others behind. Because a supply chain is only as strong as its most fragile link.

 

The good news is, we are also hearing loud and clear from heads of state that they remain committed to cooperation on climate. To build on breakthroughs we’ve seen at every recent COP,” Simon Stiell noted. 

 

Panama is hosting the first of the new revamped UN Climate Weeks, focusing on making real-world progress, showcasing solutions and exploring how they can be scaled up and shared.

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

UN enlists chefs to lead in campaign for sustainable food to tackle climate change

Chefs from around the world will help the United Nations kick-off a new campaign today – Sustainable Gastronomy Day – that aims to engage people in the global effort to tackle climate change through healthy and sustainable food choices.
 
Leading chefs will spearhead the challenge and provide inspiration by presenting their own creations which will be featured on the United Nations’ platforms to create a global wave of culinary creativity as people share their favorite recipes and photos.

The UN’s ActNow campaign aims to generate momentum towards the Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit on 23 September 2019, where leaders from governments, business and civil society will demonstrate large-scale plans to significantly reduce emissions and build climate resilience and adaptation.

“It is clear that since 2015, progress has been made across a number of the Sustainable Development Goals.  The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change have inspired an impressive early response from Governments, the private sector, local authorities, civil society, the scientific community and many more.  But it is also clear that we must move much further and much faster to achieve our Goals by 2030’” said UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed. “We can achieve the SDGs by 2030.  We can win the race against climate change.  But individuals have a big role to play, and through the ActNow Campaign, we aim to bring all people into the collective effort to limit climate change and build a sustainable world.”

Joining the campaign is the Copenhagen-based non-profit MAD, founded by Chef René Redzepi of world-renowned restaurant noma, working to transform our food system by giving chefs and restaurateurs the skills, community, time and space to create real and sustainable change. Alongside MAD, will be the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the SDG2 Advocacy Hub, and Kitchen Connection, which are working to engage chefs in the sustainable food movement.

With agriculture contributing to about one-fifth of global emissions, largely through food waste and meat consumption, the UN’s ActNow campaign will showcase the efforts and recipes of renowned chefs who are cooking with ingredients that can help reduce greenhouse gases and damage to the environment.

Food consumption is impacting the climate in many ways. The destruction of rainforests to create land for agriculture, along with growing demand for meat, are major contributors to increasing greenhouse gases. And one-third of the food that is produced in the world each year – approximately 1.3 billion tonnes at an economic cost of $940 billion to farmers, companies, and consumers – is lost or wasted, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. Wasted food is responsible for roughly 8 per cent of global emissions – if food waste were a country, it would have the third largest emissions in the world.  

As more and more chefs and other food suppliers are focusing on local and organic produce and shifting away from meat-heavy meals and fast food, the UN’s ActNow campaign aims to inspire even more people to enjoy sustainable, climate-conscious and delicious food.

Melina Shannon-DiPietro, Executive Director of MAD, says: “At MAD, and in speaking with chefs from around the globe, I’m reminded over and over again that the restaurant world is driven by a sense of creativity, care, and hospitality. Their commitment to the environment is driven by that same values, and the UN’s ActNow campaign gives our restaurant community the opportunity to share their best practices and most creative discoveries with one another and the public.”

“All ingredients are blessings from nature – vegetables, fruits, seafood – these are all affected by climate change,” said Chef Katsuhiro Nakamura, FAO National Goodwill Ambassador for Japan. “That is a huge loss for us. We have to preserve nature. Disgracing nature ties in with climate change, and ultimately, affects what we eat.”

Climate change is affecting some of the essential ingredients used in the main meal of the day, said Italian celebrity chef Carlo Cracco. "My work with IFAD and farmers in Cambodia and Morocco shows that these family farmers need to adapt to climate change impacts now, and that working with IFAD adaptation to climate change can actually increase food security and income."

In addition to the chefs, the ActNow campaign is inviting people around the world to make their individual contribution to sustainable food consumption. The challenge is to cook up dishes that are not only delicious but also good for the planet and good for us – reducing meat and emphasizing diverse vegetarian ingredients instead.

New York-based Chef Grace Ramirez said, “Confronting the climate crisis can feel overwhelming, but the ActNow food challenge offers a simple place to start -- your plate. With a few green hacks and tips on how to cook and entertain more sustainably, we can all make decisions that have less harmful effects on the environment.”

ActNow is the United Nations’ global call to individual action on climate change. The campaign is a critical part of the UN’s coordinated effort to raise awareness, ambition, and action for climate change and accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement.

The campaign began at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December 2018, when Sir David Attenborough launched the ActNow.bot. Taking advantage of technical innovation, the campaign harnesses advances in Artificial Intelligence to spur behavior change. The ActNow.bot recommends everyday actions to reduce our carbon footprints – like traveling more sustainably, saving energy or eating less meat.