African cities are key to dealing with climate loss and damage

African cities face extreme climate vulnerability, with 83% rated at 'extreme risk', yet they are largely bypassed by the global climate financial architecture. The document highlights that while cities generate 80% of global GDP and are first responders in disasters, they are not parties to international conventions like the UNFCCC. It urges cities to conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments—including non-economic loss and damage—and to leverage city networks and multi-level governance to access the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), the Warsaw International Mechanism, and the Santiago Network. The brief recommends that national governments integrate urban loss and damage into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) to improve funding access and implementation.

• African cities are highly vulnerable to climate change, with 83% of them rated at 'extreme risk'. This vulnerability is exacerbated by high levels of housing and labour informality, where over 265 million people in sub-Saharan Africa live in informal settlements.
• The global climate financial architecture has largely excluded African cities; only 3% of global climate inflows reach Africa, and only 3–5% of total adaptation funds are directed toward urban contexts.
• Cities that invest in data and vulnerability assessments are significantly more likely to take action and secure funding, being 5.7 times more likely to take adaptation actions and 2.7 times more likely to report long-term climate risks than those without such assessments.
• There are three primary UNFCCC instruments for loss and damage: the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM), the Santiago Network (SNLD), and the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD). The FRLD had US$788 million pledged as of 30 June 2025, with first disbursals expected in 2026.
• National-level climate planning in Africa often lacks sufficient urban focus. While 49 of 54 African countries included urban development in their NDCs, only 23 African countries had submitted National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) as of November 2025, and these lacked adequate urban content.
• Non-economic loss and damage (NELD), such as the loss of culture and heritage, is severely under-researched in Africa. A 2022 study found that 56 coastal heritage sites face threats from sea-level rise, a number projected to triple to 191 by 2050.

APA

Mbiyozo, A.-N. (2025). African cities are key to dealing with climate loss and damage. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1765343610657-policy-brief-211.pdf

Chicago

Mbiyozo, Aimée-Noël. African cities are key to dealing with climate loss and damage. Institute for Security Studies, 2025. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1765343610657-policy-brief-211.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{mbiyozo2025african, author = {Mbiyozo, Aimée-Noël}, title = {{African cities are key to dealing with climate loss and damage}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2025}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1765343610657-policy-brief-211.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }