By NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber
As global leaders prepare to gather in Brazil for COP30 in Belém, the world’s political and economic divisions on climate action are widening. At this year’s ADIPEC conference, I found myself questioning the value of yet another climate summit when past promises remain largely unfulfilled.
The United States, now under President Donald Trump, has shuttered its office of climate diplomacy and will not send representatives to COP30. Instead, Washington is focused on expanding domestic energy production — “Drill, baby, drill” is more than a slogan; it’s policy. The U.S. is funding its own energy ambitions, pursuing energy dominance without waiting for global climate finance to catch up.
A Broken Promise Since Copenhagen
For Africa, the question of climate finance is not new. One of the key takeaways from COP15 in Copenhagen back in 2009 was the recognition that developing countries cannot shoulder the same financial burden for the energy transition as their wealthier counterparts.
The Copenhagen Accord set a target: developed nations would collectively provide at least $30 billion annually in climate financing from 2010 to 2012, scaling up to $100 billion a year by 2020. While the pledge wasn’t legally binding, it set an important benchmark for global climate finance.
Fifteen years later, that target remains unmet. According to UN and OECD data, developed countries provided only $83.3 billion in 2020 — with just 8% directed to low-income nations and about a quarter to Africa. In 2021, the figure rose modestly to $89.6 billion, still short of the $100 billion goal. The OECD predicted the target might be reached in 2022, but as of now, that remains unconfirmed.
The numbers raise uncomfortable questions: Can — and will — the world’s richest countries ever fulfill their climate finance promises to developing nations?
UN Calls for More — But Can It Deliver?
In response to these shortfalls, the United Nations has called for even greater financial commitments. Secretary-General António Guterres has urged developed nations to double their climate adaptation funding, noting that mitigation costs and population vulnerabilities are both rising.
According to the UN Environment Programme, adaptation costs could reach $300 billion annually by 2030 and $500 billion by 2050 — five to ten times higher than current spending levels. Yet the world currently spends less than $50 billion a year on adaptation.
The urgency is real, but the question persists: Will the same countries that have missed past goals suddenly double their commitments? History suggests otherwise.
Moreover, much of the existing climate finance has come in the form of loans, not grants — a model that deepens debt burdens across developing nations rather than alleviating them.
Africa’s Alternative: Market-Based Solutions
It’s time for Africa to stop waiting. The continent must create its own market-driven solutions to finance its energy transition and secure its economic future.
One clear path forward is for resource-rich African nations to fully develop their oil, gas, and other hydrocarbon reserves — and use the revenues to fund renewable energy infrastructure, industrial growth, and domestic power access.
This approach doesn’t mean ignoring emissions. On the contrary, African producers can and should prioritize low-carbon development, as demonstrated by Eni’s Baleine project in Côte d’Ivoire — the first Scope 1 and 2 emissions-free oil project in Africa.
African governments should also focus on building domestic gas markets, investing in local capacity, and expanding infrastructure — from power plants to pipelines and transmission lines. These efforts not only reduce energy poverty but also lay the groundwork for future renewable integration.
The African Energy Bank: A Lifeline for the Continent
Africa is already taking steps toward self-reliance. In May 2022, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) signed an agreement to establish the African Energy Bank (AEB) — a multilateral institution designed to finance Africa’s energy transition on its own terms.
The AEB aims to provide predictable and balanced capital allocation between fossil fuels and renewables while enabling African countries to retain control of their development agenda.
As Professor Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, stated, the AEB will ensure “a more efficient and predictable capital allocation between fossil fuels and renewables.” Ghana’s former Energy Minister, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, echoed this sentiment, calling the bank “a lifeline for the African continent.”
No More Waiting for the Rest of the World
Africa has the resources, the talent, and now the institutional vision to lead its own energy future. The global climate finance system has repeatedly failed to deliver. It is time for Africans to chart their own course — to fund their own transition, invest in their own people, and define their own climate destiny.
No more waiting for the rest of the world.