Addis Ababa has become the focal point of the global climate agenda as Climate Week officially begins today, bringing governments, financiers, businesses, civil society, and Indigenous Peoples together to accelerate action on the ground.
The United Nations event comes at a decisive moment, just two months before COP30 in Brazil, and serves as a stepping stone for Africa’s climate priorities to shape global outcomes.
“Climate Weeks aim to connect the international climate process to people’s daily lives and to real economies. At the heart of our programme is the Implementation Forum (3–4 Sept) bringing together negotiators with implementers in governments, financiers, businesses, civil society, and Indigenous Peoples,” said UN Climate Change Deputy Executive Secretary Noura Hamladji.
Organized by UN Climate Change and hosted by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Climate Week will feed into the second Africa Climate Summit next week – a major rallying point for African nations ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Planning and Development, Fitsum Assefa, said:
“This strategic alignment ensures that Africa’s climate priorities do not remain regional aspirations but are elevated into the global agenda.”
“What we build in Addis Ababa through both the Africa Climate Summit 2 and Climate Week will strengthen implementation, unlock finance, and set the stage for COP30 and beyond. Together, these moments demonstrate that climate solutions must be locally rooted yet globally resonant if we are to build a sustainable future for all.”
“Climate Weeks aim to connect the international climate process to people’s daily lives and to real economies. At the heart of our programme is the Implementation Forum (3–4 Sept) — bringing together negotiators with implementers in governments, financiers, businesses, civil society, and Indigenous Peoples,” said UN Climate Change Deputy Executive Secretary Noura Hamladji.
With a strong focus on investment and collaboration, new Implementation Labs will focus on key challenges and opportunities, including in adaptation finance, strengthening public–private sector partnerships, scaling up agricultural, forest and food-related climate actions, and empowering communities, among many others.
A Stepping Stone for the Africa Climate Summit and COP30
The Climate Week is global in scope, but its solutions are deeply relevant to Agenda 2063 – Africa’s vision for inclusive growth, sustainability, and resilience.
“We are at a vital moment in the world’s climate journey. Climate Week in Addis Ababa is a chance to share and scale up real-world solutions, and help spread the real-life benefits of climate action to more people across Africa and around the world: more resilient economies, more jobs, better health and quality of life, more secure and affordable clean energy for all,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell.
Climate Week in Addis Ababa has been deliberately timed to take place just ahead of the Africa Climate Summit 2 (ACS2), hosted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 8–10 September 2025.
The Summit marks a crucial moment for the continent’s climate leadership, where African leaders will advance work on climate finance, adaptation, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, green growth and community empowerment, ahead of COP30.
“By strategically connecting Climate Week, the Climate Change and Development Conference in Africa, and the Second Africa Climate Summit, we establish a unified platform that turns dialogue into practical, scalable climate solutions and funding, fostering a resilient and green continent,” said Mosses Vilakati, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, African Union Commission.
