download logo
The Africa Adaptation Initiative (AAI) (AfricaAdaptationInitiative.org), the African Union’s flagship initiative dedicated to strengthening concrete adaptation on the ground, announced at COP27 pledges totaling US$40 million. These pledges include $25 million from the US, €5 million from the European Union, €5 million from Germany and $4.5 million from the Open Society Foundations (OSF).
During COP27’s “Advancing Africa’s Adaptation” event, US Presidential Climate Envoy John Kerry announced a $25 million injection to launch AAI’s Food Security Accelerator. The funding will help identify adaptation investments with the overall goal of increasing food security and freeing up private capital to invest in innovative solutions to Africa’s deteriorating food situation.
Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary at Germany’s Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, pledged €5 million ($5.25 million) to run the AAI during the meeting as part of a European team initiative that includes the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, France and the European Commission. Germany has also pledged €5 million ($5.25 million) to strengthen climate adaptation and resilience in Africa. Ms. Yamide Dagnet, Director of Climate Justice at The Open Society Foundations, pledged an additional $4.5 million through 2025 to support strengthening ECOVERSE, AAI’s groundbreaking program for rural communities.
At COP27, new pledges totaling $230 million were made to the Adaptation Fund, and the UN Standing Finance Committee on Climate Change will prepare a report on doubling adaptation funding for consideration at next year’s COP28 in Dubai.
The Honorable Lee James Taylor White, Minister of Water, Forests, Oceans and Environment of Gabon, commented: “Promoting adaptation action on the African continent is now more necessary and urgent than ever. Our priority in the Africa Adaptation Initiative is to continue to emphasize the need for increased adaptation funding across the board. There is an urgent need for meaningful financing and real Commitment to help those who contribute little to global climate change but currently suffer the most from it.”
Commenting on the funding, AAI Coordinator Ambassador Seyni Nafo said: “We know that Africa is heating up faster than any other region of the world. The urgency of the estimated need for African countries to need at least US$579 billion between 2020 and 2030 to plan and implement the adaptation measures we need cannot be overemphasized. We would like to thank all of our partners, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Climate Emergency Collaboration Group, the European Union, the German Government, OSF and the United States, for supporting our efforts to accelerate adaptation Awareness of change. Work will be needed in the coming years to adapt to the already devastating effects of climate change on the continent. ”
Distributed by the APO Group on behalf of the African Adaptation Initiative.
Media Contact:
For media inquiries, including interview requests, please contact:
Janet Ndugil
Tel: + 254 (0) 721 230 926
Second: [email protected]
About the Africa Adaptation Initiative:
The Africa Adaptation Initiative (AAI) is a flagship initiative led by the African Union dedicated to strengthening concrete adaptation on the ground. Over the years, the initiative has developed strong partnerships with international partners including: United States of America, Federal Republic of Germany, European Union, United Nations (UNDP, UNCDF), philanthropy and other key partners.
AAI was initiated by His Excellency Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at COP21 in Paris (December 2015) as Coordinator of the African Heads of State and Government Committee on Climate Change (CAHOSCC).
AAI aims to strengthen adaptation action through partnerships with institutions and organizations working on the continent, to scale up and replicate ongoing initiatives and develop proposals for new ones.
AAI will also: (i) raise awareness of climate adaptation; (ii) contribute to knowledge management, capacity building and capacity strengthening; (iii) support and facilitate resource mobilization for implementation; (iv) promote cooperation and partnerships (in subregions and regional level) to achieve synergy, scale and maximize shared benefits; (v) track progress through monitoring and evaluating actions.
This press release is issued by the APO. The content is not monitored by African Business’ editorial team, nor has it been checked or verified by our editorial team, proofreaders or fact checkers. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
