African Leaders Call for Climate Investment Over Aid at Ethiopia Summit

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — African heads of state and climate advocates gathered Monday at the second Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa with a unified message: the global community must shift from viewing Africa as a climate crisis victim to recognizing the continent as a vital investment partner in the fight against global warming.

Opening the summit, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed urged the international community to replace "climate aid with climate investment," highlighting Africa’s vast potential in renewable energy and climate resilience. He pointed to national efforts like the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam set to be inaugurated Tuesday and the country’s tree-planting initiative, which has seen more than 48 billion seedlings planted in the past seven years.

“Africa does not seek charity,” Ahmed said. “We ask our global partners not to fund us because we are impacted, but to invest with us because we are visionary.”

The summit convened dozens of African leaders and representatives from multilateral organizations, civil society, and international observers. At its core was the urgent call to mobilize financing for climate adaptation and green energy infrastructure across the continent; two areas where progress has lagged, despite ambitious pledges made during last year’s climate talks.

A Push for Climate Justice

Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, emphasized the continent’s disproportionate vulnerability to climate change. He called for structural reforms in the global financial system to ensure African countries can access the resources, technology, and expertise needed to implement their adaptation strategies.

“The vulnerability of our member countries caused by climate change, debt burden, and the structural inequalities of the international financial architecture must be redressed through climate justice,” Youssouf said. “We need genuine cooperation.”

Kenyan President William Ruto echoed the sentiment, warning that isolationism is a dead-end in confronting a crisis that knows no borders.

“No nation can solve this crisis alone,” Ruto said. “Only through bold, united, and sustained collaboration can we avert climate catastrophe. Isolation is not a winning strategy, it is courting failure.”

Mounting Climate Pressures

The summit unfolds against a backdrop of worsening climate impacts across Africa, where floods, droughts, and growing food insecurity continue to afflict some of the world's most vulnerable communities. While African nations have made notable commitments to renewable energy, implementation remains slow, largely due to inadequate financing and limited access to international climate funds.

Civil society leaders at the summit pressed for accountability and innovation in climate financing. Amos Wemanya, a climate justice campaigner with Greenpeace Africa, called for bold policy measures to ensure polluters pay their fair share.

“We need to make the polluters who have caused this climate catastrophe pay for it,” Wemanya said. “Tax the polluters. Tax the super-rich. Generate the resources we need for Africa’s climate action and development.”

Environmental advocate Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim warned against empty rhetoric, urging leaders to prioritize African-led, community-centered solutions over vague commitments.

Looking Ahead to COP30

A key outcome of the summit will be a unified declaration outlining Africa’s climate priorities. Delegates plan to present the document at COP30 in November, where global negotiators will convene to set new climate targets.

Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, president-designate of COP30, was in attendance and voiced strong support for Africa’s climate agenda.

The summit marks a critical moment in Africa’s evolving climate diplomacy; one that seeks to shift the narrative from dependency to opportunity.

“We are not asking for sympathy,” Prime Minister Ahmed said. “We are offering solutions.”