Falling Short or Following Through: COP 28 Outcomes for Africa

The document analyzes COP 28 outcomes for Africa, noting a gap between high-level agreements and the actual financial resources provided for adaptation and loss and damage. While it highlights the historic agreement to transition away from fossil fuels and new food system initiatives, it argues that the scale of funding remains insufficient for Africa's urgent needs.

• The operationalization of the Loss and Damage fund is a historic step, but the initial funding of USD 792 million is described as a "drop in the ocean" compared to the estimated USD 5.8 trillion to 5.9 trillion needed by developing countries by 2030.
• Adaptation finance remains critically underfunded, with only USD 134 million committed to the climate adaptation fund despite an estimated annual financing gap of USD 194-366 billion for developing countries.
• COP 28 achieved a first-of-its-kind international agreement to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems to reach net zero by 2050, though the document notes a lack of specific implementation commitments and the use of "phase-down" instead of "phase-out".
• Significant progress was made on food systems through the UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action and the creation of the Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation (ACF), the latter of which includes African states as 40% of its founding members.
• While official COP proceedings deferred major financial decisions to COP 29, private sector and non-state actors provided substantial support, including the UAE's ALTÉRRA fund aiming to mobilize USD 250 billion in private-sector investment by 2030.

APA

Mbungu, G., Ogallo, E., & Rudic, D. (2024). Falling Short or Following Through: COP 28 Outcomes for Africa. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/falling-short-or-following-through-cop-28-outcomes-for-africa

Chicago

Mbungu, Grace, Edith Ogallo, and Diana Rudic. Falling Short or Following Through: COP 28 Outcomes for Africa. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2024. https://afripoli.org/falling-short-or-following-through-cop-28-outcomes-for-africa.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mbungu |first1=Grace |last2=Ogallo |first2=Edith |last3=Rudic |first3=Diana |title=Falling Short or Following Through: COP 28 Outcomes for Africa |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=12 February 2024 |url=https://afripoli.org/falling-short-or-following-through-cop-28-outcomes-for-africa |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mbungu2024falling, author = {Mbungu, Grace and Ogallo, Edith and Rudic, Diana}, title = {{Falling Short or Following Through: COP 28 Outcomes for Africa}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2024}, month = feb, url = {https://afripoli.org/falling-short-or-following-through-cop-28-outcomes-for-africa}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }