ECA at the Second Africa Climate Summit | Events | United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

Introduction

Ethiopia will host the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) convened by the African Union Commission (AUC) in Addis Ababa from 8-10 September 2025. The Summit will be preceded by pre-summit events from 5-7 September 2025. The Summit will be structured around the following: nature and technology-based solutions to drive adaptation, development and resilience on day one; adaptation and resilience, spotlighting Africa’s climate risks and scalable responses, on day two; and, climate finance and African-led solutions, shifting from aid to investment in local innovation, on day three. Africa Climate Summit 2 01 The ACS will bring together leaders from Africa and beyond: Heads of State and Government, development partners, intergovernmental organizations, private sector, academia, Indigenous Peoples, civil society organizations, women, and youth. This diverse gathering aims to design and catalyze African-led solutions for climate change and deliberate on how to leverage both domestic and international climate financing, rooted in African priorities and local innovation, to accelerate implementation of existing commitments.

ACS-2 Vision

The second edition of the Africa Climate Summit aims to serve as a platform to inform, frame, and influence commitments, pledges, and outcomes. The Summit will bring Africa’s shared vision of climate action on advancing Africa led solutions and how to finance them, collaboratively championed by the AUC and Ethiopia as the host. The Summit emphasizes the need for Africa to harness climate financing strategies that address the impacts of climate change while contributing to both climate adaptation and mitigation interventions and ensuring green development. The Summit recognizes Africa’s potential for global climate solutions, emphasizing the need for fair and equitable allocation of resources and support, particularly for African nations that have historically contributed the least to climate change but are disproportionately affected by its impacts, yet the continent has immense potential for climate change rectifications for the region specifically, and the globe in general.

The ACS-2 is Africa’s moment to lead global climate action. Ahead of COP30 and building on ACS-1, ACS-2 will unify Africa’s voice to shape global climate negotiations. It will push for fairer global finance systems, prioritizing renewable energy, nature-based and technology-based solutions, adaptation, and community-led solutions. This vision empowers African communities, especially youth and indigenous groups, to shape a prosperous, climate-resilient future. The Summit will seek to elevate the climate change crisis as a justice and fairness issue, resonating with the African Union theme of the year (2025), “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations”.

The ACS-2 is firmly guided by key principles, including a strong commitment to multilateralism and the imperative to restore trust in the global governance processes established to tackle climate change impacts. The Summit is built on principles that reflect a shift in how climate action is approached: It upholds international rights frameworks, providing the legal and moral foundation for just and equitable climate action; recognizes the interdependence of nations and the need for a new, respectful model of sustainable development that reduces emissions in developed countries, scales up adaptation efforts, and ensures access to green technologies for the world’s most vulnerable; prioritizes transparency and accountability, ensuring that climate policy decisions are informed by science and responsive to the needs of low-income countries; and, champions partnerships that promote nature- and people-centred investments, offering innovative and sustainable solutions to climate challenges.

The Summit will call upon all policymakers and stakeholders to present course-correcting solutions for mobilizing political and financial actions to combat the climate crisis. Positioned ahead of COP30, the Summit will consolidate Africa’s voice and elevate it as a unified force in international negotiations. It will catalyze long-overdue reforms in the global financial system, advocating for new mechanisms that reflect Africa’s realities and priorities, particularly in renewable energy access, climate adaptation, and resilience. ACS2 will also deepen South–South cooperation and foster a new era of global partnerships rooted in equity, innovation, and African-led solutions. The long-term impact will be a strengthened continental position that not only influences COP30 but also institutionalizes Africa’s leadership in global climate governance.

As a high-level event bringing together leaders and investors from Africa and beyond, the Summit aims to leverage potential opportunities that yield concrete, actionable, and impactful climate action interventions. African Union Member States and supporting partners are called to champion the delivery of a sustainable climate financing mechanism and to seize this opportunity to elevate climate-resilient and green development initiatives while pursuing equality and shared prosperity, recognizing that Africa's climate resilience is integral to global stability and sustainable development.

They are further called to build effective partnerships between Africa and other regions to meet the needs for financial, technical, technological support, and knowledge sharing for climate-resilient and green development across the continent. The Declaration and outputs from this event will aim to serve Africa’s and the globe’s ambition and be submitted for consideration at the next UN General Assembly, G20, and COP30.

Further Summit information is available here: https://www.africaclimatesummit2.et