Financing Africa’s Future: AfDB Leads the Push for Large-Scale Climate Adaptation

Africa faces escalating climate threats despite minimal emissions, yet adaptation finance remains far below what is needed to safeguard lives, economies, and food systems. The African Development Bank is scaling up action through major programs like the Climate Action Window and AAAP, mobilizing billions to drive climate-resilient development across the continent

Africa’s climate crisis is no longer a distant threat but a lived experience, captured with urgency by institutions such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). Their assessments reveal a stark paradox: despite contributing less than 4% of global emissions, Africa is warming faster than any other region. The consequences are severe: agricultural productivity has fallen 34% since 1961, droughts and floods are multiplying in frequency and intensity, and climate-related losses may slash up to 20% of GDP by 2050. Over 100 million Africans could be displaced within their own countries as climatic disruptions deepen. Yet adaptation finance remains grossly inadequate. Against a USD 70 billion annual need, Africa receives only USD 11–13 billion, leaving a vast gap as more than twenty countries spend more on debt than resilience.

AfDB Ramps Up Action as Adaptation Champion

The African Development Bank has positioned itself as the continent’s most assertive adaptation financier. In 2024, it deployed USD 5.5 billion in climate finance, dedicating 56% to adaptation, a record-high share among development banks. Impressively, 83% of this climate finance came from AfDB’s own resources, signalling a deep institutional commitment. Today, climate resilience is integrated into 97% of all AfDB-financed operations, meaning infrastructure, agriculture, water systems, urban development, and energy projects are now systematically designed with climate risks in mind. The Bank pairs this mainstreaming with a growing suite of financial tools and partnerships that help African governments pivot from climate intent to climate delivery.

Climate Action Window: A Lifeline for Vulnerable Nations

A central pillar of AfDB’s adaptation strategy is the Climate Action Window (CAW), a dedicated concessional finance mechanism targeted at Africa’s most vulnerable countries. With 39 projects and a total portfolio nearing USD 1.86 billion, CAW blends grants, concessional finance, and technical assistance to unlock high-impact climate investments. Its access processes are intentionally streamlined; countries do not need accreditation and may submit proposals directly. Flagship examples include Sierra Leone’s USD 10 million Freetown WASH resilience programme, improving services for 700,000 residents and reducing flood risk by 30 percent; Burkina Faso’s USD 26 million Ouagadougou urban drainage system benefiting 4.7 million people while generating 3,000 green jobs; and Ethiopia’s climate-resilient wheat value chain, which supports 2.3 million farmers and reduces import dependence.

AAAP: Mobilizing Billions for Scaled Adaptation

Alongside CAW, the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), a joint initiative of AfDB and the GCA, is one of the world’s largest adaptation financing efforts. Designed to mobilize USD 25 billion by 2025, AAAP has already secured USD 11.9 billion across 85 operations, reaching more than 60 million people. Its work spans four pillars: food security, resilient infrastructure, innovative finance, and youth entrepreneurship. The pipeline reflects the program’s breadth, from Ethiopia’s Borana Water Resilience project for pastoralist communities, to Kenya’s nationwide urban WASH upgrades benefiting 1.4 million people, to Mozambique’s reinforced Songo–Matambo transmission line protecting 2,300 MW of grid capacity and reducing outages by 40 percent. It also includes major regional infrastructure efforts such as climate-proofing the Abidjan–Lagos highway corridor and rehabilitating rail networks threatened by extreme weather.

Innovation, Scale, and a Call to Global Partners

AfDB complements its large-scale programs with innovative financing vehicles designed to unlock private and concessional capital. The Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF) focuses on upstream technical assistance to design bankable adaptation programs. The Canada–AfDB Climate Change Fund (CACF) expands gender-responsive climate finance. The Adaptation Benefits Mechanism (ABM) pioneers payments for verified resilience outcomes, an emerging model for global adaptation markets. The African Green Bank Initiative (AGBI) works with local financial institutions to mobilize private investment in green and climate-resilient sectors.

The report's combined CAW and AAAP pipeline includes nearly 70 adaptation projects targeting food systems, water security, early warning systems, youth innovation, coastal resilience, and climate-proofed transport. Together, these initiatives embody a central message: Africa’s resilience is investable. Every dollar of CAW or AAAP concessional financing unlocks three to four dollars in co-financing, creating powerful leverage for global partners. The AfDB urges the international community to scale up support, not as charity, but as a strategic investment in a continent whose climate stability is essential to global prosperity.