As talks hit the mid-way point at this year’s United Nations climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, African leaders and activists have called for a shift from loan-tied climate funding to grant-based solutions, to address the continent’s climate crisis. Dozens of climate groups from across the continent under the aegis of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), asked world leaders to refrain from increasing the continent’s debt burden with loan instruments disguised as climate finance… [Mithika Mwenda, PACJA’s Executive Director] noted that the climate finance to be secured under the new collective quantified goal (NCQG), ought to contribute to climate justice rather than Africa’s growing debt portfolio…A report by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) puts this in perspective: African countries and their counterparts in the world’s poorest and most climate-vulnerable regions service their debts with twice as much as they receive to mitigate their climate crisis. This reality makes loan-based financing an unsustainable and unsuitable solution.

At the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) presented their first joint report on the circular economy: “The circular economy in motion”.

The report presents 20 detailed case studies from around the world and a variety of areas ranging from waste management and food to the construction sector, plastics, textiles, battery recycling and the recovery of critical raw materials. The case studies provide a snapshot of the MDBs’ support to the circular economy that spans advisory services, financial support to governments, private-sector investments and backing to the financial sector.

“The African Development Bank acknowledges the transformative potential of circular economy to generate youth employment and ecological benefits through regenerative practices and efficient resource use. Through the Africa Circular Economy Facility (ACEF), the Bank is committed to continue to empower African countries to harness the numerous opportunities of the transition to circularity”, emphasized Dr Anthony Nyong, Director for Climate Change and Green Growth at the African Development Bank.

Stakeholders and government representatives attending the consultations for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia have called for an overhaul of the global financial architecture, stressing the need to reform it into one that fairly represents and responds to the needs of Africa.

The two-day conference organized by the Macroeconomics, Finance & Governance Division of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is examining Africa’s financing needs and developing a concerted approach towards FfD4 in Seville, Spain in June 2025.

In his address, Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary, ECA highlighted the need for a unified response to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, geological tensions and economic downturn which have stretched the continent to the limit.

“Africa now faces a financing gap of up to $1.3 trillion annually to meet its sustainable development goals by 2030,” he said.

“As of 2023, the continent’s external debt exceeded USD 1 trillion with extremely high annual interest payments – in effect, limiting our ability to fund essential development.”