The African Group of Negotiators (AGN) have called for increased grant-based adaptation finance and stronger global responsibility to build climate resilience across the continent.
The call was made during discussions on Climate Resilience and Adaptation at a meeting in Accra ahead of global climate negotiations.
The negotiators noted that Africa contributes less than four per cent of cumulative global greenhouse gas emissions yet remains among the hardest hit by climate change impacts, with losses across agriculture, water resources, infrastructure, coastal systems and public health increasing as global temperatures rise beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius.
They stressed that Africa’s limited adaptation capacity was linked to development challenges, explaining that inadequate investment in social, economic, and physical infrastructure continued to weaken the continent’s ability to withstand climate shocks.
According to the African position, adaptation finance flowing to the continent remained “chronically and systematically inadequate,” despite needs running into hundreds of billions of dollars annually.
The negotiators criticised reliance on concessional loans instead of grants, describing it as unjust for African countries to incur debt in responding to a crisis largely caused by industrialised nations.
The AGN reaffirmed support for the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), first proposed by Africa in 2013 and later established under Article 7.1 of the Paris Agreement.
The group said the framework must drive political action and financial support for adaptation rather than become a reporting exercise detached from implementation.
Africa is demanding parity between adaptation and mitigation support, including finance, technology transfer and capacity building, as part of the Paris Agreement implementation cycle.
The continent also insists that adaptation finance should be predominantly public, grant-based, new and additional funding determined by assessed needs rather than the willingness of developed countries to contribute.
The negotiators also called for simplified and direct access to climate finance through national and regional institutions, stressing that adaptation needs must be assessed according to global temperature scenarios.
African countries warned they would reject adaptation finance targets heavily dependent on private financing or loans, saying such mechanisms transfer financial risks onto vulnerable nations.
They also opposed any adaptation framework lacking clear links between adaptation targets and financial support from developed countries.
“Targets without finance are not adaptation; they are a record of unmet need,” the African position stated.
The negotiators underscored that adaptation finance was not charity but an obligation arising from the historical responsibility of high-emitting countries.
Discussions also linked adaptation efforts to broader issues such as just transition, resilient infrastructure, food systems, social protection and technology development.
Source: GNA
