The African climate summit 2025 opened in Ethiopia with leaders pledging to make the continent a global model for green development. They positioned Africa’s renewable energy push as the foundation for the world’s “next climate economy.”
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told delegates that Africa cannot wait for survival to be negotiated. “We are here to design the world’s next climate economy,” he said at the opening ceremony. Abiy also announced plans for an Africa climate innovation initiative, funded by the continent itself. The program will unite universities, startups, communities, and inventors to deliver 1,000 climate solutions by 2030.
Kenyan President William Ruto unveiled a $100 billion green industrialisation plan backed by Africa’s development lenders and commercial banks. Signatories include the African Development Bank, the Africa Export-Import Bank, Ecobank Transnational, and KCB Group. The initiative aims to scale renewable energy, accelerate sustainable industries, and cut reliance on fossil fuels.
“If we make the right choices now, Africa can be the first continent to industrialize without destroying its ecosystems,” Abiy said. He also expressed Ethiopia’s interest in hosting COP32 in 2027.
This year’s summit follows the inaugural Nairobi meeting two years ago, where leaders demanded more global financing. Despite those calls, Africa still receives only 1% of global annual climate funding, officials reported. Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, chair of the African Union Commission, stressed that climate finance must be “fair, significant, and predictable.”
Leaders voiced frustration at weakening global cooperation. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration pulled out of the Paris climate accord for a second time earlier this year. Washington also abandoned clean energy partnerships with South Africa and other African nations. “Commitments are broken and international solidarity is dismissed as weakness precisely when cooperation is most urgent,” Ruto warned.
The African climate summit 2025 set the stage for COP30 in Brazil later this year, where African leaders hope to push harder for financing, adaptation, and recognition of the continent’s vulnerability to global warming.
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