African climate negotiators are intensifying calls for a major overhaul of global climate finance systems, warning that the continent’s ability to cope with worsening climate impacts is being undermined by slow, fragmented and inaccessible funding.
At a workshop of the Pan African Coalition for Adaptation and Resilience in Athi River, Kenya, Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change, Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, said Africa must urgently shift from climate policy discussions to large-scale, fully funded implementation of adaptation programmes.
He argued that despite repeated global commitments, adaptation efforts across Africa remain heavily dependent on pilot projects and short-term initiatives that fail to match the scale of climate threats facing the continent.
According to him, climate shocks are already destabilising key sectors including agriculture, water supply, health systems and livelihoods, with the most vulnerable groups bearing the brunt of the crisis.
He described farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk, urban poor communities, women, children and persons with disabilities as being on the frontlines of accelerating climate stress.
Dr Amoah warned that droughts, flooding and extreme weather events are exposing systemic weaknesses across infrastructure, sanitation, food systems and local government finances, increasing the risk of humanitarian emergencies.
He therefore called for integrated adaptation strategies that combine early warning systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, ecosystem protection and expanded social protection networks.
A major point of concern, he noted, is that climate finance continues to fall short in both accessibility and delivery, with many vulnerable communities unable to benefit from existing global funding mechanisms.
“If adaptation is local in its impact, then finance must become more local in its delivery,” he stressed, calling for decentralised and more efficient funding channels.
Dr Amoah also urged that negotiations under the Global Goal on Adaptation reflect Africa’s realities, particularly in areas such as food security, water systems, health, settlements and infrastructure resilience.
He emphasised that Africa must enter upcoming climate negotiations in Bonn and toward COP31 and COP32 with a unified and sharper focus on implementation rather than rhetoric.
Looking ahead to COP32 in Addis Ababa, he said the event must not become symbolic but must instead mark a turning point where global climate action prioritises adaptation as seriously as mitigation.
“COP32 must be a moment when the world confronts adaptation with the seriousness it deserves,” he stated, adding that African priorities must shape the centre of the global climate agenda.
