Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie (center) with AU Commission Chairperson Mahamoud Ali Youssouf (fourth from right), UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary Noura Hamladji (in white), and Ethiopia’s Planning Minister Fitsum Assefa (second from right) at the launch of Climate Week.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has placed itself firmly at the heart of Africa’s climate response, reaffirming its commitment to provide the continent with timely access to climate finance and technical expertise.
Speaking at the opening of Climate Week 2025 in Addis Ababa, AfDB climate director Anthony Nyong warned that climate change was advancing faster than solutions.
“The time for words has passed; the time for bold and inclusive action is now,” he said, stressing that the Bank will ensure African governments can access the tools they need to act.
Financing Africa’s Climate Future
The Addis gathering comes just days after Dr. Sidi Ould Tah was sworn in as the ninth president of the AfDB, promising to accelerate reforms and build new investment models to support sustainability.
Tah pledged to tap African sovereign wealth and pension funds while strengthening global partnerships, positioning the Bank as the primary driver of green development.
His emphasis on sustainability and peace-building is expected to shape AfDB’s climate agenda at a time when the continent faces severe shocks, from recurrent droughts to devastating floods.
Noura Hamladji, Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), echoed the urgency, pointing to the global financing gap.
She reminded participants that wealthy nations had pledged $1.3 trillion annually in climate finance by 2035 for developing countries but said this would mean little without practical delivery.
“It must become implementable,” Hamladji noted, urging a shift from political declarations to accessible funding mechanisms.
AfDB’s leadership in Addis co-organizing sessions and running the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Clinics demonstrated how it is helping African countries align policies, strengthen capacity, and design investment-ready climate projects.
These efforts, Nyong argued, are central to ensuring Africa’s climate action is not stalled by lack of finance or technical support.
A Broader Vision for Africa
Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie framed the event within a continental vision of prosperity.
He called for integrated electricity markets powered by Africa’s mineral wealth, resilient food systems, and stronger leadership from women and youth.
“Here, we will champion a new vision for Africa,” Selassie said, inviting development partners “to witness firsthand the imagination, ingenuity, and scale that Africa brings to the world.”
For Addis, the host city of both Climate Week and the upcoming Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2), the message is clear: Africa intends not only to articulate needs but also to show solutions that can reshape global negotiations.
Youth Driving Implementation
Young voices at the forum reinforced the demand for inclusivity.
COP30 Youth Climate Champion Marcele Oliveira of Brazil said youth movements were no longer just waiting for change but actively building it.
“We are not just the future; we are the present, leading the way on climate action and forging new possibilities,” she said. For her, successful climate action requires governments, the private sector, and civil society to overcome barriers to collaboration.
“Working together is not easy, but it is necessary,” Oliveira stressed, underscoring the collective nature of implementation.
Her remarks resonated with the AfDB’s focus on inclusive finance and the need to empower innovators across sectors.
By engaging youth, local communities, and small enterprises, the Bank hopes to create climate projects that are both impactful and sustainable.
Building Momentum Toward COP30
Climate Week 2025, which runs until 7 September, is designed as a lead-up to the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) on 8–10 September and, ultimately, to COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in November.
Alongside high-level discussions, it includes an Implementation Forum, peer-learning exchanges, and the NDC Clinics spearheaded by AfDB.
These platforms are intended to accelerate delivery on resilience, just transition, and climate finance while refining Africa’s common negotiating stance.
As Nyong reminded participants, the stakes could not be higher.
“Climate change, with its attendant consequences, is accelerating faster than the solutions being proposed,” he said, reiterating the Bank’s pledge to ensure Africa is not left behind.
With AfDB’s new leadership under Tah and its technical programs in Addis, Africa is signaling that it wants not just promises but practical pathways to a resilient and inclusive future.
