Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa

Africa requires USD 277 billion annually to meet its 2030 climate goals, yet only USD 29.5 billion was tracked in 2019/2020. International public finance dominates the landscape, while private sector contributions remain low at 14%. The report highlights significant investment gaps, particularly in Southern Africa, and a critical need to shift funding from fossil fuels toward renewable energy and adaptation, especially in the agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sector.

• There is a massive gap between Africa's climate finance needs and actual flows; the continent requires USD 277 billion annually to implement its NDCs, but annual flows stand at only USD 29.5 billion, meaning African countries received only 12-15% of required investments in 2019 and 2020.
• 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.
• The Southern African region has the largest absolute financing gap, primarily due to South Africa's high annual needs of USD 107 billion combined with low regional investment levels.
• Private sector contribution to climate finance in Africa is significantly lower than in other regions, accounting for only 14% (USD 4.2 billion) of total flows, compared to 37% in South Asia and 49% in Latin America & Caribbean.
• Africa shows a more balanced distribution between adaptation and mitigation than other global regions; mitigation accounted for 49% (USD 14.6 billion) and adaptation for 39% (USD 11.4 billion) of flows, whereas adaptation typically represents only 7%–16% globally.
• Loans are the primary financial instrument, representing 56% of total finance. Specifically, loans dominate mitigation (57%) and commercially attractive sectors like energy (56%), while grants are preferred for adaptation in low-income countries (69%) and the AFOLU sector (54%).
• Investment in renewable energy is severely underfunded compared to fossil fuels; annual renewable energy investment is USD 9.4 billion, while fossil fuel investments averaged USD 29 billion per year (2016–2021) and fossil fuel subsidies averaged USD 37 billion (2019/2020).
• The Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector is critically underfunded, receiving only 16% (USD 4.6 billion) of total climate finance despite its high vulnerability and economic importance.
• International public finance grew slightly from USD 22.3 billion in 2019 to USD 24.3 billion in 2020, with Multilateral Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) and climate funds serving as the largest source (49%).
• Gender responsiveness in climate finance is low; only 19% of the 32% of total climate finance tagged for gender equality was actually gender responsive, with mitigation projects showing the lowest responsiveness at 7%.

APA

Meattle, C., Padmanabhi, R., Fernandes, P., Balm, A., Wakaba, E., Chiriac, D., & Tonkonogy, B. (2022). Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa. FSD Africa. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1.-Landscape-of-Climate-Finance-in-Africa-l-Full-report.pdf

Chicago

Meattle, Chavi, Rajashree Padmanabhi, Pedro Fernandes, Anna Balm, Elvis Wakaba, Daniela Chiriac, and Bella Tonkonogy. Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa. FSD Africa, 2022. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1.-Landscape-of-Climate-Finance-in-Africa-l-Full-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Meattle |first1=Chavi |last2=Padmanabhi |first2=Rajashree |last3=Fernandes |first3=Pedro |last4=Balm |first4=Anna |last5=Wakaba |first5=Elvis |last6=Chiriac |first6=Daniela |last7=Tonkonogy |first7=Bella |title=Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa |publisher=FSD Africa |date=September 2022 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1.-Landscape-of-Climate-Finance-in-Africa-l-Full-report.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{meattle2022landscape, author = {Meattle, Chavi and Padmanabhi, Rajashree and Fernandes, Pedro and Balm, Anna and Wakaba, Elvis and Chiriac, Daniela and Tonkonogy, Bella}, title = {{Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1.-Landscape-of-Climate-Finance-in-Africa-l-Full-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }