_By Abbas Nazil_
At the 14th Convocation Ceremony of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) held on April 11, 2025, Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, delivered a powerful lecture highlighting the urgent need for greater global climate financing to support Africa’s battle against climate change.
Addressing an audience of graduates, academic staff, and dignitaries, Dr. Adesina emphasized that climate change is not a distant threat but a present and intensifying crisis for the African continent.
Despite contributing only 3% of the world’s cumulative historical carbon emissions, Africa remains the most vulnerable region to the effects of climate change.
Dr. Adesina revealed that nine out of the ten most climate-vulnerable countries globally are located in Africa.
The continent currently loses an estimated $7–15 billion annually due to climate change, a figure projected to soar to $50 billion by 2050 if decisive action is not taken.
He condemned the current global climate finance architecture, stating that Africa receives just 3% of global climate finance—an allocation he described as gravely insufficient.
In response to this disparity, the African Development Bank (AfDB), under Dr. Adesina’s leadership, is taking bold steps to mobilize climate finance on a much larger scale.
He announced the African Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), a $25 billion initiative developed in collaboration with the Global Centre on Adaptation.
The program is now the world’s largest climate adaptation initiative, focused on helping African nations build resilience to the growing climate threats.
Further stressing the need for climate shock preparedness, Dr. Adesina outlined the AfDB’s Africa Disaster Risk Insurance Facility, which pays insurance premiums for countries facing extreme weather events and enhances their disaster readiness. So far, the facility has deployed over $100 million.
A new phase of this initiative—the Africa Climate Risk Insurance Facility for Adaptation—is currently being scaled up to $1 billion.
This expanded version will support national insurance companies in underwriting climate risks and accessing the global re-insurance market.
Dr. Adesina dismissed emerging global debates that question the validity of climate change, noting that for Africa, climate change is not an ideological issue but a lived reality.
“Africa does not have the luxury of being distracted,” he said. “We must climate-proof our economies and secure our populations with resilient infrastructure and preparedness.”
To accelerate green development, he highlighted the recent launch of the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa, which aims to mobilize $10 billion to develop green and climate-resilient infrastructure across the continent.
This includes investments in sustainable transport systems, renewable energy such as green hydrogen, compressed natural gas, and climate-resilient water and sanitation systems.
Dr. Adesina’s remarks serve as a resounding call for action from the international community to close the financing gap and support Africa’s climate resilience efforts as the continent faces increasingly severe climate disruptions.