Learn more about the Work Programme and the COP30 Action Agenda here
Parts of this site were translated using AI. Accuracy may vary.
Learn more about the Work Programme and the COP30 Action Agenda here
Parts of this site were translated using AI. Accuracy may vary.
Wednesday, 27 August 2025 | By Climate High-Level Champions
Africa is gearing up to host a pivotal moment in climate diplomacy as both Climate Week 2 (CW2) and the second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2), take place in Addis Ababa this September.
ACS2 will highlight Africa’s ability to usher in a new era of climate leadership, accelerating its green transition at home, while CW2 will address the global climate agenda in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in November.
The second Climate Week (CW2) is a global event focused on strengthening regional and international cooperation on climate action. As part of UN Climate Change’s climate week programming, CW2 will convene the international community and connect national governments with business, investors, subnationals and civil society groups ahead of COP30.
Held from September 1-6 in Ethiopia, CW2 will be more than just a meeting of minds. It will provide a dedicated space for the people and institutions implementing climate solutions on the ground.
Four of CW2’s six days are reserved for mandated, Party-led events. The remaining two days will focus on non-State actors (including businesses, representatives from cities and regions, civil society groups, financiers, and others) through what organizers are calling the “Implementation Forum”. The forum consists of several events, including a series of implementation labs (ILABs) and roundtables which will focus on real-world, replicable solutions in agriculture, carbon markets, energy, forests, and sustainable cities.
Dan Ioschpe, COP30 Climate High-Level Champion and Nigar Arpadarai, COP29 Climate High-Level Champion will be on-site throughout the week to support the forum and rally stakeholders around the Action Agenda.
Solutions shared at CW2 have the potential to feed into the COP30 Action Agenda’s “Granary of Solutions.” This online database is designed to showcase scalable initiatives that can accelerate climate action globally.
The second Africa Climate Summit, taking place September 8–10, follows directly on the heels of CW2. Where CW2 focuses on broad engagement and technical dialogue across the global climate community, ACS2 is a gathering of heads of state, ministers and financiers to chart Africa’s climate future.
Guided by the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, ACS2 will highlight Africa-led solutions that are not only ambitious but grounded in the continent’s realities: from re-greening landscapes to accelerating renewable energy.
Expectations are high. The last Africa Climate Summit in 2023 secured more than USD 20 billion in pledges for green growth and adaptation. It also produced the Nairobi Declaration, a collective call for greater investment in renewables and carbon markets.
A major theme for Africa at both climate events will be the continent’s green industrial revolution. Africa holds some of the world’s largest reserves of critical minerals — cobalt, lithium, manganese — essential for batteries, electric vehicles, and clean technologies. It also has some of the best solar and wind resources anywhere, alongside the youngest workforce in the world.
But without deliberate policy and financing, Africa could remain trapped as a supplier of raw materials while others capture the value of clean-tech manufacturing. With the right investment and trade reforms, however, the continent could manufacture batteries, process green steel and cement, and export clean energy itself — creating millions of jobs and fueling growth.
The debate in Addis Ababa will revolve around how to secure the tools to make this transition real: for example, scaling climate finance and attracting private capital. It will also look at reforming trade rules that disadvantage African producers, and ensuring technology transfer that allows African industries to compete globally.
Closing the gap on adaptation finance will be another key focus. The discussions build on those from the world’s largest adaptation event (NAP Expo 2025) held in Kenya earlier this month.
Africa accounts for just 3.8 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet the region is among the hardest hit by climate change, facing rising heat, drought, flooding and mounting food insecurity.
Despite this, Africa receives only 20 per cent of global adaptation finance flows (about USD13 billion annually), according to the Global Center on Adaptation. For comparison, the East Asia and Pacific region receives about 45 per cent. It’s nowhere near enough.
“Around USD 300 billion is needed annually for climate adaptation by 2030”, said Youssef Nassef, Director of Adaptation at UN Climate Change. “Governments will spend this amount and much more, whether they like it or not, in rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by climate disasters, and importing food due to ruined crops”.
What makes CW2 and ACS2 different from past iterations is a shift in tone and in ownership, according to Reitumetse Molotsoane, Africa Director for the Climate Champions Team. African leaders and institutions will be actively showcasing solutions designed by Africans, for Africans, with global relevance.
This emphasis on implementation mirrors the wider COP30 Action Agenda, which aims to consolidate fragmented efforts across the globe into a unified push for delivery on climate action.
And while much of the world will be watching for new pledges or eye-catching announcements, CW2 appears more focused on demonstrating progress already underway. Highlighting African-designed solutions to the global climate community may prove to be the continent’s greatest asset.
CW2 and ACS2 will not, on their own, close Africa’s climate finance gap or reverse decades of underinvestment. But they could mark a turning point where Africa defines its role as a driver of homegrown climate solutions.
If Addis Ababa delivers, Africans will arrive at COP30 with a clear blueprint for climate action that will stimulate growth, jobs and a fairer global economy.
