AfDB and Brazil Forge Climate Alliance Ahead of COP30 to Boost Africa’s Voice

Despite contributing less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Africa is home to nine of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries.

In a pivotal diplomatic and strategic moment, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva hosted African Development Bank Group President Dr. Sidi Ould Tah in Belém, Brazil — the Amazonian city that will serve as the stage for COP30, the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, from 10 to 21 November 2025. The high-level meeting, held just days before the World Leaders’ Summit scheduled for 6–7 November, underlines a deepening Brazil–Africa alliance aimed at scaling up climate finance and resilience for the world’s most vulnerable regions.

This year’s COP marks a critical milestone: a decade since the signing of the Paris Agreement, with global temperatures dangerously close to the 1.5°C limit. With up to 60,000 delegates expected, including heads of state, negotiators, private sector leaders, financial institutions, Indigenous communities, and civil society, COP30 is projected to be the most consequential climate gathering since 2015.

Reigniting Climate Ambition and Equity

The African Development Bank (AfDB), under Dr. Ould Tah’s leadership, is poised to play a lead role in championing Africa’s climate agenda, demanding a just energy transition, scaled-up climate adaptation financing, and financial sovereignty for developing nations.

Despite contributing less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Africa is home to nine of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries. Yet, the continent receives barely 3% of global climate finance, a gap that the AfDB is actively working to close through its pioneering finance instruments and strategic global partnerships.

“Africa cannot continue to be the last in line when it comes to climate financing,” Dr. Ould Tah has emphasized in previous remarks, highlighting the moral and financial imbalance in the global climate response.

A Historic Leaders' Summit in the Amazon

President Lula’s World Leaders’ Summit — a historic first to be held before formal COP negotiations begin — is designed to reset the global climate finance narrative. Dr. Ould Tah’s participation at this summit is significant, not only because of Africa’s high vulnerability, but also because of the ecological parallels between the Congo Basin and the Amazon, the planet’s two largest tropical rainforest ecosystems.

In Belém, Dr. Ould Tah will stress the shared responsibility of preserving these vital carbon sinks, which serve as natural regulators of the Earth’s climate system. He will also participate in the official launch of Brazil’s Tropical Forests Forever Fund — a major blended-finance mechanism that unites forest-rich nations across the Amazon, the Congo Basin, and other parts of Africa to promote climate solidarity, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity protection.

This initiative aligns with the AfDB’s long-standing support for nature-based solutions through its:

• Congo Basin Forest Fund

• Partnership with the Central African Forest Commission

• Africa Climate Change Fund

• Integration of forest protection into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs)

A Call to Action: Four Cardinal Points for Africa

Dr. Ould Tah will use the COP platform to unveil a bold call to action for Africa, structured around his Four Cardinal Points strategic agenda, which emphasizes:

1. Adaptation and climate resilience

2. Clean and renewable energy for a just transition

3. Nature-based solutions and biodiversity protection

4. Financial sovereignty for African nations

During the high-level thematic session on “Climate and Nature: Forests and Oceans”, chaired by President Lula, Dr. Ould Tah will urge world leaders to move beyond pledges to tangible financing, calling for realignment of international financial flows to meet the pressing needs of Africa and the Global South.

AfDB’s Record on Climate Finance and Innovation

The African Development Bank has emerged as a global leader in climate finance innovation, with $5.5 billion committed to climate action in 2024 — nearly half of its total annual lending approvals. Uniquely, 60% of this financing over the past decade has gone toward adaptation, a domain often underfunded in traditional climate finance models.

Through various funding instruments, the AfDB is helping African countries meet their climate goals:

• The African Development Fund’s Climate Action Window (launched in 2022) provides concessional finance and technical support to 37 least-developed African nations

• The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) supports clean energy investments and regional integration

• The Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF) funds community-led climate resilience and adaptation

• The African Circular Economy Facility (ACEF) fosters innovation and waste reduction

In 2024 alone, the Climate Action Window disbursed over $31 million to build climate resilience in Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Djibouti, and Madagascar, with goals to cut 720,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions, generate 180,000 green jobs, and train 90,000 farmers in climate-smart techniques.

Forging a Post-COP30 Roadmap

At COP30, Dr. Ould Tah will also engage in bilateral meetings with global financial institutions, donor governments, private sector investors, and civil society stakeholders to shape a post-COP30 climate finance roadmap — one that aligns with Africa’s development priorities, environmental realities, and economic aspirations.

The Bank will document and share its actions, outcomes, and commitments through a dedicated COP30 microsite and social media channels, ensuring transparency and public engagement.

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A Defining Moment for Climate Justice

With the climate crisis accelerating, COP30 in Belém represents a make-or-break opportunity for global leaders to correct historical imbalances and deliver just, inclusive, and transformational climate finance.

For the African Development Bank and its partners, it is also a platform to cement Africa’s leadership in the climate dialogue — not as a passive victim of climate impacts, but as a proactive innovator, negotiator, and solution-provider.

As President Lula and Dr. Ould Tah forge a strategic bond between Brazil and Africa, the world watches with hope that new alliances and bold actions will define this critical COP — and secure a more equitable and sustainable future for all.