By Abbas Nazil
African Development Bank (AfDB) Group allocated 49% of its total project approvals to climate finance in 2024, reaffirming its remarkable leadership in addressing climate change and promoting green growth across Africa.
This amounted to approximately $5.5 billion out of a total of $11.3 billion in financing, according to the Bank’s newly released Climate Change and Green Growth (2024) Annual Report.
The report highlights a broad and ambitious agenda focused on mainstreaming climate change into Bank operations, increasing climate finance mobilization, and driving major special initiatives, all while reinforcing Africa’s presence on the global climate policy stage.
Adaptation finance constituted 56% of the Bank’s climate finance allocation, with mitigation finance making up the remaining 44%, reflecting the Bank’s continued prioritization of building resilience to climate impacts on a continent that remains among the most vulnerable globally.
Africa contributes less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions yet suffers disproportionately from the effects of climate change, including droughts, floods, heatwaves, and food insecurity.
In 2024, Southern Africa was hit by drought induced by the El Niño phenomenon, prompting Malawi and Zambia to declare states of disaster.
An estimated 50 million people across Southern and Central Africa were reported at risk of hunger in 2025 due to the failed 2024 harvest.
Against this backdrop, the Bank continued its efforts to meet its climate finance goal of $25 billion between 2020 and 2025.
By the end of 2024, it had mobilized $19.5 billion, representing 78% of the target, and remains on track to meet or exceed it by the 2025 deadline.
The Bank’s Climate Change and Green Growth Department (PECG), located within the Power, Energy, Climate, and Green Growth Complex (PEVP), played a central role in delivering the Bank’s climate agenda.
In 2024, the PEVP complex achieved a remarkable 100% climate finance allocation for all its approved operations.
Other complexes also contributed, with the Agriculture, Human and Social Development Complex (AHVP) achieving 57%, the Private Sector, Infrastructure, and Industrialization Complex (PIVP) contributing 41%, and the Economic Governance and Knowledge Management Complex (ECVP) contributing 36%.
Internal core resources accounted for 83% of climate finance, while external sources contributed the remaining 17%.
In terms of financial instruments, 74% of climate finance was issued as loans, 16% as grants, and 6% as guarantees, reflecting a shift in emphasis from the previous year when guarantees had a higher share.
The Bank also mobilized $224 million in new climate finance from global and bilateral climate funds in 2024, including $151 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), $48 million from the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), and $33.5 million from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
Additionally, the Bank launched several new technical assistance programs and collaborated with partners to develop country platforms to support just transitions and climate-resilient development in regional member countries (RMCs).
Major climate-focused initiatives in 2024 included the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), which mobilized over $9.5 billion since inception and was awarded the Best Investable NDC Adaptation Investment Initiative at the Africa NDC Awards.
The AAAP aims to secure $25 billion by 2025 in climate adaptation financing and has been instrumental in enabling African nations to access global finance and implement climate-resilient projects.
The Bank’s Climate Action Window (CAW), a dedicated window under the African Development Fund, raised $442 million in total from international partners such as the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
In 2024, CAW began disbursing adaptation grants and launched calls for proposals for mitigation and technical assistance projects across multiple sectors, including agriculture, water, energy, transport, and green finance.
The Africa Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA) and the Africa Circular Economy Facility (ACEF) supported the integration of circular economy practices into national development strategies, while the African Green Bank Initiative (AGBI) helped institutions in Benin and Côte d’Ivoire develop green finance pipelines.
New technical assistance packages were also launched for institutions in North Africa, and preparations began for Kenya’s national Green Bank.
The Bank’s Adaptation Benefits Mechanism (ABM), designed to monetize adaptation co-benefits and attract private investment, was formally recognized under the UNFCCC’s Article 6.8 Platform in December 2024.
This recognition marked a major step forward in establishing non-market approaches for financing climate action in developing countries.
Throughout 2024, the Bank amplified Africa’s voice in global forums.
Led by its President, Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, the Bank played a key role at COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, as well as at COP 16 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Colombia and COP 16 of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Saudi Arabia.
In Baku, the Bank joined other Multilateral Development Banks in committing to mobilize $120 billion annually in climate finance for low- and middle-income countries by 2030.
It also contributed to the establishment of a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on Climate Finance, aiming for $300 billion annually for developing countries by 2035, and to scaling up towards a long-term goal of $1.3 trillion per year.
The Bank assumed the chairmanship of the MDB Climate Action Group in January 2025 and is now working with the COP 30 Presidency on the Baku to Belem Roadmap to scale up global climate finance ambition.
Case studies featured in the report underscored the diversity and impact of AfDB climate projects.
Among them, the REWARD rice value chain project in West Africa aims to enhance food security, climate resilience, and market access across 13 countries, while promoting low-methane practices such as alternate wetting and drying.
Another project supported Sucres et Denrées SA (SUCDEN SA) with a $100 million corporate loan to boost sustainable cocoa production in Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria, including capacity building and sustainability certification support.
As climate change intensifies and global financing needs rise, the African Development Bank continues to position itself as a cornerstone institution for Africa’s climate action, resilience building, and green transition.
Through strategic leadership, resource mobilization, and innovative partnerships, the Bank is working to ensure that African nations are not left behind in the global response to climate change.
The 2024 Annual Report showcases not only progress but a deepened commitment to turning Africa’s climate vulnerability into a platform for opportunity, growth, and sustainability.
Abbas Nazil, who holds a first-class degree in forestry and wildlife management, is a reporter with NatureNews
