What Africa wants at COP30

Activists of the Belem Action Mechanismn hold a protest during the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belem, Para State, Brazil on November 11, 2025. [AFP]

As global climate talks intensify at COP30 in Belem Brazil, African nations are presenting a unified front with a clear set of demands: climate finance must come a s grants, not loans, and the world's understanding of a "just transition" must include en ergy access for hundreds of millions.

The African position reframes climate finance not as aid, but a legal obligation from the developed nations most responsible for this crisis.

The conti n ent is already grappling with a massive debt burden, which re ached $1.15 trilli on in 2023, according to the African Development Bank.

"We had fairly uncomfortable results in Baku," said Richard Muyungi, chair African Group of Negotiators (AGN) referring to last year's climate summit .

He stated developed countries must "be mindful of th e fact that Africa is not ready to take additi onal burden in terms of financing."

Africa's negotiators are pressing for clima te finance that is predictable, accessible, and grant-based. "Climate finance is not optional, it is the cor nerstone for implementi ng our NDCs, NAPs, and lo ng-term strategies," Muyugi said.

The AGN insist s that developed countries m ust treat climat e finance as a legal and moral obligation.

The group wants the new global finance goal, the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), to align with Africa's real needs and reduc e the cost of capital by 2030.

Africa 's extern al debt hit $1.15 trillion in 2 023, with se rvicing costs more than doubling since 201 0. "Africa is not ready to take an additional burden in terms of financing," said Muyungi, AGN chair, reminding donors that those most responsible for the climate crisis must shoulder a greater share of it s costs.

African governments are backing the "Baku to Belem R oadmap," which calls for scaling up climate finance to $1.3 trillion ann ually by 20 35.

They want this fl ow to be mostly in grants and concessional loans, channelled through UN climate funds, not commercial deb t.

Adaptation is dominating A frica's agenda.

The continent contributes less than 4% of global emissions yet faces the highest climate costs. "Adaptation is not a choice for Africa, it is an existential priority," Muyungi said in its joint opening statement.

Over 20 African countries have submitted National Adaptation Plans, but most remain underfunded. "We have been gi ven resources for the preparation of these plans, but the true implementation of what we nee d is not given attention," Muyungi said.

Delegates want COP30 to adopt measurable adaptation indicators that reflect African realities, metrics linked to actual resilience outcomes like crop yield recovery, community reloc ation, and infrastructure protec tion.

Mohamed Adow of Power Shift A frica said these metrics "must demo nstrate progress towards predictable finance and put adaptation on a par with mitigation."

Ethiopia 's Green Legacy Initiative offers a concrete example. It has mobilized millions of citizens to plant 48 billi on seedlings in seven years, im proving water systems and restoring degraded land. Adow said this sym bolizes Africa's capacity to lead through local solutions, not handouts.

African negotiators are a lso eyeing the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), launched by Brazil to protect global rainf orests. The Congo Basin, which stores over 30 billion tonnes of carbon, has receiv ed only 4% of global forest finance in recent years.

"How Africa wil l benefit from this is still debatable but we have requested engagement to ensure we understand how thi s fund can help the continent," Muyungi said.

Civil society coalitions have u rged COP30 to channel resources d irectly into African-led forest programs like AFR100 and the Grea t Green Wall.

The Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshiseke di told the pre-COP summi t that A f rica must be a fu ll partner, not a benefici ary, in any forest financing scheme.

After years of slow pr ogress, Africa wants a just transition framework that addresses poverty, energy ac cess, and industrial growth.

"The agenda here is to ensure that just transition is not about e-mo bility or the hydrogen economy, " said Muyungi. " It's about e nsuring that Africa gets what it needs to be part of the world. Energy accessibility is one of the key priority issues."

More than 600 million Africans still lack electricity . The African Group is calling fo r fi nancing of local energy projects, particularly clean cooking solu tions for the 900 million people who rely on wood and charco al.

Experts warn that if the tr ansition focuses only on global decarbonization, Africa risks repeating colonial economic patte rns.

"Africa must not sleepwalk into a future designed els ewhere," said Dean Bhebhe, a just transition expert. "We need energy sovereignty, building local value chains, refining our own minerals, and powering inclusive growth."

The African Green Industrialization Initiative, advanced at the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) in Addis Ababa, seeks to localize clean-tech manufacturing.

Ethiopia's ambassador to Brazi l said the initiative "promotes b eneficiation, industrialization, and job creation," and calls fo r Africa's share of renewable investment to r ise from 2% to at least 20% by 2030.

Loss and da mage costs in Africa are projec ted between $28 0 billion and $440 billion annually by 2030.

Yet the Loss and Damage Fund launched two years ago still holds less than $400 million. "I t's one more instance wher e climate justice is being shortchanged with words that continue to over-promise and under-deliver," sai d Carlos Lopes, COP30's special envoy for Africa.

African negotiators are demanding a replenishment of t he fund by 2027, and a rapid-response window for disasters like floods and droughts.

Lopes said the mechanism must operate on a "tragedy-emergency basis" with direct cash transfers and budget support for affected governments.

Africa's p osition i s shifting its narrative. "Africans are not going to be treated as if they were just the vulnerable cro wd ," Lopes s aid earlier. "We are here to clai m the compensation required to repair the injustice."

The Addis Ab aba Declaration, adopted at ACS2, anchors this stance.

It calls for reforming global finance systems and scaling up Africa-led p rojects through the African Climate Facility and Climate Innovation Compact, which together aim to mobilize $50 billion a year by 2030.

The continent is demanding fair fin ance, equitabl e access to technology, and space to define its own path toward resilience and prosperity.

AGN st ated, "Belem must deliver decisions that reflect the urgent need to address climate challenges and respond to the needs of our people".