African Heads of State and Representatives at the Second Africa Climate Summit; Photo from Sandra Tuombouh. Used with permission.
Over 6,000 delegates gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, for the second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2), held from September 8 to 10, to search for Africa-driven solutions ahead of negotiations for the United Nations 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30), the world’s largest annual environmental conference.
The second Africa Climate Summit was organized to unite African leaders, youth, and partners in pushing for fair climate finance, stronger adaptation strategies, and recognition of Africa’s role as a solutions hub, while preparing a common position ahead of COP30 negotiations. It was a pivotal moment for Africa to stake its claim as a leader in the global climate conversation. Leaders, activists, and young innovators came together to push for reforms in climate finance, stronger adaptation strategies, and recognition of Africa’s youth voices. The gathering was themed around “Accelerating Global Climate Solutions: Financing for Africa’s Resilient and Green Development.” Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, opened the event with a keynote that set the tone:
Africa should not be seen only as a victim of climate challenges, but as a continent of solutions and innovations that could guide the world forward.
He also proposed the “Africa Climate Innovation Compact” to produce 1,000 innovators by 2030, financed and owned by Africans.
This vision was built on the momentum of the inaugural summit in Nairobi in 2023, which, importantly, was preceded by the African Youth Climate Assembly (AYCA). By doing so, organizers ensured that the majority-youth population of Africa was not just represented but central to shaping the conversation.
The challenges Africa faces
Africa continues to wrestle with the painful legacy of historical injustice and the harsh reality of a deepening climate crisis. Despite contributing the least to global emissions, the continent feels the impacts most acutely. Climate finance remains painfully inadequate as wealthy nations have consistently fallen short of their yearly pledge, and African countries today pay back about five times more in debt servicing than they receive in climate aid.
The cost of this imbalance is causing hospitals to stretch beyond capacity as diseases like malaria and cholera spread more widely under shifting climatic conditions. Crops are failing under the weight of prolonged droughts or sudden floods, leaving farmers with empty fields and families without food. Coastal cities, from Lagos to Dar es Salaam, face rising waters that sweep away homes, businesses, and livelihoods.
Yet at the same time, Africa holds some of the richest renewable resources on the planet. If harnessed, its solar capacity alone could power the world many times over. Africa holds 17 percent of the world’s population but receives just 3 percent of global climate investment. Restrictive financial systems and predatory loan arrangements often force African countries back into reliance on fossil fuels.
EcoVista, a youth-led ecological justice movement whose main focus is on climate justice and the environment, based in Nairobi, Kenya posted on its X account:
Fossil fuels are the biggest driver of the climate crisis, responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions. #MakeThemPay
Draw The Line pic.twitter.com/N9aUDWl8e8
— EcoVistaKe (@EcoVistaKE) September 19, 2025
Layered on top of that is a painful reminder of colonial history. While Africa’s minerals powered industrial growth in the Global North, the continent was left behind with ecological damage and struggling economies. Yearly natural disasters including cyclones, floods, and expanding deserts displace millions every year, and pushed African leaders at ACS2 to adopt the Addis Ababa Declaration, a clear and urgent call for change.
With regard to the consequences facing Africa, Tangwa Abilu, a Cameroonian Climate and Environmental Activist, shared on X :
The horn of Africa is grieving because their
-Their farms are no longer yielding
-Advancement of desert is alarming
-Our major rivers are drying
-Proliferation of pest and pathogens
-Development of tropical diseases.
-Our crop are dieing out.
Climate change is a reality. pic.twitter.com/2MQ5fZG1Zo
— Tangwa Abilu.🌿🌏🌾🍀🍃.SDG’s. (@AbiluTangwa) December 29, 2024
In the same context, K. Diallo, an African author, drew attention to the damage caused by floods in December 2023. He posted on his X account:
flood disaster in the DR Congo is a result of global warming meeting a failed state…..The global South bears more than 95% of the costs and deaths related to climate change despite making up less than 5% of consumption-based cumulative emissions above 350ppm CO2. pic.twitter.com/vTDobNNVl5
— K.Diallo ☭ (@nyeusi_waasi) December 31, 2023
Young changemakers sharing their personal stories at a side event. Photo from Sandra Tuombouh. Used with permission.
Demands ahead of COP30
For African leaders, climate finance must shift from symbolic promises to meaningful reparations. They argue that financing should come as debt-free grants rather than loans that deepen dependency. Historic polluters owe this to frontline communities losing their farms to drought or their homes to rising seas. The Loss and Damage Fund, in particular, needs to prioritize these vulnerable communities with direct, rapid assistance: cash for families in sinking villages, support for starved farmlands, and investment in healthcare for climate-induced trauma. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said:
Too often, Africa’s story begins with what we lack: finance, technology, time. Let us instead begin with what we have: the youngest population in the world, vast solar resources, and the resilience to build a new climate economy.
Leaders are also demanding stronger commitments from rich nations. During last year’s COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, countries from the global north pledged to pay USD300 billion in climate finance, but the amount falls far short of the USD1.3 trillion per year needed by African nations, who need it to effectively adapt and transition away from fossil fuels.
ACS2 came at a crucial moment when the Lake Chad Basin, which once supported millions across Cameroon, Chad, and the Central African Republic, had shrunk by over 90 percent. With it, the livelihoods of countless families have evaporated. Africa is both the most vulnerable to climate collapse and one of the most promising centers for climate solutions. As the world heads towards COP30 in Brazil in November, Africans say they do not just want to be heard, but are demanding to be recognized as solution builders and shapers of the planet’s shared future.