African leaders are seeking a more coordinated climate negotiating position ahead of COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, while beginning preparations for COP32 in Ethiopia in 2027.
The Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change met in New York on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, with discussions focused on climate finance, adaptation, resilience, renewable energy, clean cooking and green industrialisation.
According to an African Union readout, Kenyan President William Ruto, who coordinates the committee, convened the meeting to advance Africa’s common position for COP31 and lay the groundwork for the following climate summit in Ethiopia.
From climate pledges to implementation
The African position emerging from New York places implementation at the centre of the next round of climate diplomacy. The AU said leaders want greater attention to accessible adaptation finance, loss and damage, technology and capacity building, as well as transition arrangements that expand energy access and employment.
The financing structure is particularly important for African countries already facing debt and fiscal pressures. At a CAHOSCC meeting earlier in 2026, the African Union said less than 3% of global climate finance reaches sub-Saharan Africa annually and argued that a substantial share of financing reaching the continent comes through loans rather than grants.
The committee is consequently pushing not only for larger financing commitments but also for capital that is more accessible, affordable and predictable.
Adaptation moves to the centre
Adaptation is expected to become an increasingly prominent African priority as negotiations move from COP31 towards an African-hosted COP32.
In remarks published by the African Union, Ruto said the adaptation finance gap remains substantial and called for previous commitments to be translated into a credible implementation pathway. He also framed climate policy as an economic and investment issue, linking renewable energy and resilient infrastructure to industrialisation and competitiveness.
African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf similarly identified adaptation finance, loss and damage support, technology access and a just transition among the continent’s priorities ahead of COP31. The AU said member states are already advancing regional power integration, renewable energy, clean cooking and climate-resilient agriculture.
Why COP32 matters
Ethiopia’s hosting of COP32 gives African governments a longer negotiating horizon. Rather than treating Antalya as a standalone summit, the continent has an opportunity to build a sequence from COP31 into a climate conference hosted in Addis Ababa.
That creates space to place African priorities more firmly within global discussions on climate finance and investment. It also raises the pressure on governments to arrive at COP32 with investable projects and measurable progress, rather than negotiating positions alone.
The economic dimension is increasingly central. Africa has significant renewable-energy resources and opportunities in green manufacturing, but many projects face high financing costs, limited risk-sharing instruments and constrained access to long-term capital.
Closing that gap will require action beyond climate negotiations. Multilateral development banks, private investors, governments and development-finance institutions will all have roles in converting policy commitments into bankable power, transport, agriculture and industrial projects.
The New York meeting does not itself guarantee those financing outcomes. It does, however, establish the issues African governments intend to carry into Antalya and, ultimately, Addis Ababa: adaptation, implementation, investment and a transition that supports development alongside climate resilience.
References
- African Union: CAHOSCC meeting to advance Africa’s common position ahead of COP31
- African Union: Remarks by President William Ruto at the CAHOSCC meeting
- African Union: African leaders call for an overhaul of global climate finance
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