By Faridat Salifu
African policymakers, businesses, investors and climate practitioners are set to confront the continent’s widening gap between climate commitments and actual implementation as the Africa Climate Forum (ACF) 2026 opens in Abuja next week.
The fourth edition of the forum, scheduled for October 13–14, 2026, at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, will focus on how climate commitments can be converted into bankable projects, stronger partnerships and measurable outcomes across the continent.
Organised by the Global Centre for Law, Business and Economy (GCLBE), the forum is themed “Implementing in Lockstep: Public-Private Action for Green Outcomes.”
The organisers said the shift towards implementation reflects growing concerns over the challenges of financing, coordination and execution facing Africa’s climate ambitions.
Rather than focusing solely on climate commitments, the forum will examine how governments, private companies, financial institutions and development organisations can coordinate their efforts to deliver climate projects and outcomes.
Prof. George Nwangwu, Convener of the Africa Climate Forum and Director General of GCLBE, said effective climate action requires governments, businesses and financial institutions to move together.
He said the forum provides an opportunity to strengthen existing partnerships, develop new ones and make commitments that can translate into practical action.
The programme will bring together policymakers, business executives, climate leaders, development institutions, researchers and other experts from Africa and beyond, with participants attending both physically and virtually.
Among those expected to contribute are Ambassador Philbert Abaka Johnson, Director and UNIDO Representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS; Olasupo Shasore, SAN, Senior Partner at Africa Law Practice NG & Company; Hon. Sam Onuigbo, Governing Board Member and Chairman of the Committee on Security, Special Interventions and Climate Change at the North East Development Commission; Dr Salisu Dahiru, former Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change; and Engr. Chijioke Okwuokenye, Managing Director of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company.
The forum will also feature contributions from Dr Forster Boateng, Managing Director of C4Impact Advisory Group; Dr Gloria Boamah Kusi, Senior Sustainability Officer at the Jospong Green Transition Office; Dr Debany Fonseca Batista, Research Associate at Dalhousie University’s CERC.OCEAN Laboratory and Executive Director of the DOTCAN Institute; and Claudette Hutchinson, Chief Executive Officer and AI Implementation Architect at Owning My.
Discussions will cover some of the major challenges confronting Africa’s transition, including private-sector participation, carbon markets, energy access, natural gas, food security and climate adaptation.
Participants will also examine community-led climate action, human rights and just transition, as well as the use of artificial intelligence, data and digital technologies in climate planning and implementation.
A major feature of the forum will be the ACF Deal Room, which will connect climate project developers and green businesses with investors and financial institutions.
The platform is expected to provide an avenue for climate solutions seeking partnerships and financing to engage directly with potential investors and other sources of capital.
The forum will also host a Pulitzer Centre side event on Journalism, Climate Action and Civic Space Engagement, focusing on how public-interest journalism can strengthen climate accountability, improve public understanding and amplify the experiences of communities affected by climate change.
The Abuja meeting follows climate conversations held by ACF in Accra earlier in 2026, which focused on climate partnerships, finance, just transition and public-private collaboration.
Since its first edition in 2023, the Africa Climate Forum has convened actors from policy, business, investment and development around Africa’s climate response.
The 2026 edition is expected to place greater emphasis on closing the gap between climate ambition and delivery by linking policy discussions with investment, enterprise and institutional action.
