Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa

The 'Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa' report by the Climate Policy Initiative provides a baseline assessment of climate finance flows into and within African countries for 2019 and 2020. It highlights a massive gap between the annual USD 277 billion required to implement Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the actual annual flows of USD 29.5 billion. The report analyzes the sources, instruments, and sectoral allocations of this finance, noting a heavy reliance on international public funding and a significant under-investment in adaptation and the agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sectors compared to their needs.

• There is a severe shortfall in climate finance for Africa, with annual flows of USD 29.5 billion meeting only 11% of the estimated USD 277 billion needed annually to implement NDCs and meet 2030 climate goals.
• Climate finance is highly concentrated, with ten countries—Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Mozambique, Cote d’Ivoire, Tunisia, and Ghana—absorbing more than half of all investment.
• International public finance is the dominant source of climate funding, accounting for 80% of total flows. Multilateral Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) and climate funds were the largest public sources at 49%.
• Private sector contribution is significantly lower in Africa (14%, or USD 4.2 billion) than in other regions such as Latin America & Caribbean (49%) or East Asia and Pacific (39%). Private investment is heavily skewed toward mitigation (81%), primarily in energy systems.
• Africa shows a more balanced distribution between adaptation and mitigation than other global regions, with mitigation accounting for 49% (USD 14.6 billion) and adaptation for 39% (USD 11.4 billion). However, funding for both must increase by at least 13 and 6 times, respectively, to meet NDC goals.
• Loans are the primary financial instrument, representing 56% of total financing. Grants are more prevalent in adaptation (46%) and the AFOLU sector (54%), while loans dominate mitigation (57%) and commercially attractive sectors like energy (56%).
• Investment in renewable energy (USD 9.4 billion annually) is a small fraction of the continent's investment in fossil fuels (USD 29 billion/year between 2016–2021) and government fossil fuel subsidies (USD 37 billion/year in 2019/2020).
• The Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector is critically underfunded, receiving only 16% of total climate finance despite its importance for food security and its high vulnerability.
• Regional investment gaps vary, with the Southern African region facing the largest absolute gap, primarily due to South Africa's high annual needs of USD 107 billion. Central and East Africa face the largest gaps as a percentage of GDP (26% and 23% respectively).
• Gender responsiveness in climate finance is low; only 19% of the 32% of total climate finance tagged for gender equality was actually gender responsive. Mitigation finance had the lowest responsiveness at 7%.

APA

Meattle, C., Padmanabhi, R., Fernandes, P. D. A., Balm, A., Wakaba, E., Chiriac, D., & Tonkonogy, B. (2022). Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Landscape-of-Climate-Finance-in-Africa.pdf

Chicago

Meattle, Chavi, Rajashree Padmanabhi, Pedro de Aragão Fernandes, Anna Balm, Elvis Wakaba, Daniela Chiriac, and Bella Tonkonogy. Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa. Climate Policy Initiative, 2022. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Landscape-of-Climate-Finance-in-Africa.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Meattle |first1=Chavi |last2=Padmanabhi |first2=Rajashree |last3=Fernandes |first3=Pedro de Aragão |last4=Balm |first4=Anna |last5=Wakaba |first5=Elvis |last6=Chiriac |first6=Daniela |last7=Tonkonogy |first7=Bella |title=Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=September 2022 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Landscape-of-Climate-Finance-in-Africa.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{meattle2022landscape, author = {Meattle, Chavi and Padmanabhi, Rajashree and Fernandes, Pedro de Aragão and Balm, Anna and Wakaba, Elvis and Chiriac, Daniela and Tonkonogy, Bella}, title = {{Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Landscape-of-Climate-Finance-in-Africa.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }