Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa 2024

The report finds that while climate finance in Africa grew by 48% to USD 43.7 billion in 2021/22, it remains severely insufficient, meeting only 23% of the annual needs required for NDC implementation. Public finance dominates the landscape, providing 82% of total flows, while private finance is heavily concentrated in energy systems and a small number of countries. The document highlights a critical 'trilemma' where climate-vulnerable countries are also debt-distressed and conflict-affected, further hindering their ability to attract investment. Key recommendations include scaling the use of guarantees, improving domestic capital market regulations, and enhancing the transparency and equity of voluntary carbon markets.

• Climate finance flows to Africa increased by 48% from USD 29.5 billion in 2019/20 to USD 43.7 billion in 2021/22, with annual investment crossing the USD 50 billion mark for the first time in 2022.
• There is a massive funding gap: current flows meet only 23% of the estimated annual finance required for African countries to implement their NDCs and meet 2030 goals, with total needs estimated at just under USD 2 trillion until 2030.
• Public finance is the primary source of climate funding, providing 82% of total flows, with multilateral development finance institutions (DFIs) alone contributing 43% (USD 19 billion) of overall flows.
• Private climate finance nearly doubled to USD 8 billion between 2019/20 and 2021/22, but it remains highly concentrated, with ten countries receiving 76% of the total and 72% of all private finance directed toward energy systems.
• Climate finance is distributed unequally across the continent; the ten most vulnerable countries received only 11% of all climate flows, while ten other countries received 46% of total international funding.
• Debt instruments are the dominant form of climate finance, accounting for 51% of all investments, which is more than double the proportion seen in other regions like East Asia and the Pacific (18%) or Latin America and the Caribbean (20%).
• Adaptation finance has decreased as a share of overall climate finance, falling from 39% in 2019/20 to 32% in 2021/22, despite an absolute increase to USD 13.8 billion.
• The voluntary carbon market (VCM) in Africa is growing, with the global value share of African projects increasing from 10% in 2021 to 26% in 2023, though it is hindered by opaque fees and a lack of transparency from intermediaries.
• A 'trilemma' exists where 12 conflict-affected African states are also among the most climate-vulnerable and debt-distressed, with climate finance to these countries split almost equally between grants (47%) and loans (43%) in 2021/22.
• Africa's average climate project size is less than USD 2 million, significantly lower than in other emerging market regions such as East Asia (USD 24 million) and South Asia (USD 5 million).

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2024). Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa 2024. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Landscape-of-Climate-Finance-in-Africa-2024.pdf

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa 2024. 2024. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Landscape-of-Climate-Finance-in-Africa-2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa 2024 |date=October 2024 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Landscape-of-Climate-Finance-in-Africa-2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2024landscape, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa 2024}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Landscape-of-Climate-Finance-in-Africa-2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }