Report: Leandro Molina / COP30 
Voice-over: Laura Frederico and Rebeca Rodrigues

Reporter: Unity and financial justice set the tone for the opening of the second Africa Climate Summit, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The gathering brought together more than 45 African leaders and thousands of participants to reaffirm climate commitments and present their own solutions.

With a message of solidarity, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, president-designate of COP30, stressed the historic and human bonds between Brasil and Africa. He also outlined three priorities for the conference in Belém: strengthening climate multilateralism, bringing negotiations closer to people’s everyday lives, and accelerating the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Corrêa do Lago: The world must fight climate change for Africa, because the continent’s contribution to global warming is absolutely minimal.

Reporter: Brasil’s position echoed the central message of African leaders. Kenyan President William Ruto recalled that the Nairobi Summit of 2023 repositioned Africa as a power on the global stage, but he warned of the risk of setbacks.

William Ruto: Too often commitments are broken, and international solidarity is dismissed as weakness—precisely when the magnitude of the climate crisis demands stronger cooperation. Isolation is not a strategy. It is a failure.

Reporter: Securing financing at the necessary scale was a recurring theme. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chair of the African Union Commission, presented stark figures underscoring the demand for climate justice.

Ali Youssouf: Africa contributes just 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet the continent needs $1.3 trillion annually to finance its climate adaptation plans. What has been proposed for Africa—$300 billion in mitigation finance based largely on private-sector investment—is nowhere near sufficient.

Reporter: Among the solutions presented, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed highlighted domestic initiatives such as the Green Legacy program, which has already planted 48 billion trees, and the construction of a dam capable of generating 5,000 megawatts of renewable energy.

Abiy Ahmed: We are not here to negotiate our survival. We are here to develop the world of the next climate. Africa can be the first continent to industrialize without destroying its ecosystems.

Reporter: Ethiopia’s Minister of Planning and Development, Fitsum Assefa, underscored Africa’s role in forging its own path to address the crisis.

Fitsum Assefa: Over the next three days, we will deliberate not only on climate change but also on how we can shape an African decade of delivery through financing and resilient, green development.

Reporter:The Africa Climate Summit put forward three main calls to the international community: reform the global financial architecture; accelerate implementation of the loss and damage fund agreed at COP27; and invest in African solutions already in place.

Translation: Tadeu Azevedo
Proofreading: Michel Emmanuel Félix François