COP30: Africa’s $70 Billion Adaptation Gap Demands Concrete Action, Think Tank Warns
By Praisebell Rosemond Larbi
As world leaders gather in Belém, Brazil, for COP30, climate advocacy group Power Shift Africa is urging African negotiators to push for binding and measurable climate finance commitments to help the continent close its US$70 billion annual adaptation funding gap.
In a new policy brief released this week, the Nairobi-based think tank warned that Africa continues to warm at twice the global average rate, even though it contributes the least to global greenhouse gas emissions. The report cautioned that worsening droughts, floods, and heatwaves are pushing millions into food insecurity, displacing communities, and overburdening already stretched national budgets.
“COP30 must move from ambition to implementation. African leaders should demand concrete timelines for climate finance delivery, technology transfer, and capacity-building to strengthen resilience on the continent,” Power Shift Africa said.
According to the report, Africa needs approximately US$70 billion annually for effective climate adaptation, but only US$14.8 billion was disbursed in 2023, less than a quarter of what is required. This shortfall, the think tank said, continues to undermine the continent’s ability to prepare for and respond to climate shocks.
Power Shift Africa called for adaptation finance to be tripled, beyond the current global goal of doubling it by 2030, and stressed that funds should be provided mainly as grants rather than loans, to avoid deepening debt in vulnerable countries.
With COP30 serving as the first major summit after the Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement, which revealed significant gaps in global progress toward limiting warming to 1.5°C, the organization said African negotiators must push for a “decisive shift from pledges to accountability.”
It recommended that negotiators advocate for measurable indicators under the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) to track progress and link national targets to predictable, scaled-up financing.
“Adaptation must be more than rhetoric. It requires measurable goals, transparent reporting, and sustained funding especially for countries with the highest climate vulnerability,” the brief stated.
The organization also called for a well-funded Loss and Damage Fund to allow communities already facing climate disasters to access financial support directly, without bureaucratic delays.
On the broader just transition agenda, Power Shift Africa emphasized that Africa’s pathway away from fossil fuels must be “nationally determined and economically inclusive,” balancing decarbonization with development priorities such as energy access, industrialization, and job creation.
It further urged the removal of intellectual property and structural barriers that restrict Africa’s ability to develop and manufacture its own green technologies. “Africa cannot remain just a consumer of imported technologies. We must build our capacity to innovate, adapt, and manufacture climate technologies locally,” it said.
As negotiations continue in Brazil, finance, adaptation, and just transition remain central to Africa’s position. Observers note that the continent’s ability to speak with one voice could determine its influence on the next phase of global climate action.
Power Shift Africa concluded with a stark reminder: “This is Africa’s moment to demand delivery, not just promises.”
