Reaction: African Development Bank Annual Meetings 2023 – Progressive Reform Rhetoric and Over reliance on Private Sector Climate Finance a Major Risk to Africa’s Debt Sustainability

The African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD) reacts to the 2023 African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings, arguing that an over-reliance on private sector climate finance poses a risk to Africa's debt sustainability and prioritizes profit over people.

• Africa faces a severe lack of climate financing despite its low contribution to global emissions. The continent accounts for 3% of global carbon emissions and suffers annual losses between $7-15 billion due to climate change, yet it has received only at least 3% of global climate finance, totaling USD$18.3 billion.
• AFRODAD expresses concern that the AfDB's focus on mobilizing private sector financing for green growth promotes approaches—such as the Cascade Approach and the World Bank's Evolution Road Map—that prioritize profit over people through blended instruments. The organization asserts that public-private partnerships of this nature can increase country debt vulnerabilities, undermine the domestic private sector, and crowd out public regulation of public goods.
• While AFRODAD supports AfDB President Dr Akinwumi Adesina's calls for reforming the international financial architecture to improve debt restructuring and transparency, it warns that these calls remain 'rhetoric' unless accompanied by strategic actions that break the cycle of high interest rates and limited financial access.
• AFRODAD proposes three specific actions for the AfDB, member countries, and the African Union: revisiting global financial architecture reforms based on debt suspension, renegotiation, restructuring, and cancellation; supporting the UNCTAD proposal for an International Developing Country Debt Authority to oversee temporary standstills; and addressing illicit financial flows to stop the expropriation of funds from Africa.

APA

African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (2023). Reaction: African Development Bank Annual Meetings 2023 – Progressive Reform Rhetoric and Over reliance on Private Sector Climate Finance a Major Risk to Africa’s Debt Sustainability. https://afrodad.org/sites/default/files/statements/Reaction-Progressive-Reform-Rhetoric-and-over-Reliance-on-Private-Sector-Climate-Finance-a-Major-Risk-to-Africas-Debt-Sustainability.pdf

Chicago

African Forum and Network on Debt and Development. Reaction: African Development Bank Annual Meetings 2023 – Progressive Reform Rhetoric and Over reliance on Private Sector Climate Finance a Major Risk to Africa’s Debt Sustainability. 2023. https://afrodad.org/sites/default/files/statements/Reaction-Progressive-Reform-Rhetoric-and-over-Reliance-on-Private-Sector-Climate-Finance-a-Major-Risk-to-Africas-Debt-Sustainability.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=African Forum and Network on Debt and Development |title=Reaction: African Development Bank Annual Meetings 2023 – Progressive Reform Rhetoric and Over reliance on Private Sector Climate Finance a Major Risk to Africa’s Debt Sustainability |date=27 May 2023 |url=https://afrodad.org/sites/default/files/statements/Reaction-Progressive-Reform-Rhetoric-and-over-Reliance-on-Private-Sector-Climate-Finance-a-Major-Risk-to-Africas-Debt-Sustainability.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{africanforumandnetworkondebtanddevelopment2023reaction, author = {{African Forum and Network on Debt and Development}}, title = {{Reaction: African Development Bank Annual Meetings 2023 – Progressive Reform Rhetoric and Over reliance on Private Sector Climate Finance a Major Risk to Africa’s Debt Sustainability}}, publisher = {African Forum and Network on Debt and Development}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://afrodad.org/sites/default/files/statements/Reaction-Progressive-Reform-Rhetoric-and-over-Reliance-on-Private-Sector-Climate-Finance-a-Major-Risk-to-Africas-Debt-Sustainability.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }