Despite contributing the least to global emissions, Africa remains the most vulnerable continent to the impacts of climate change, undermining food security, threatening livelihoods, and displacing people groups.
The African Climate Foundation (ACF) was established in 2020 to address the continent’s climate and development challenges in tandem.
Today, the ACF is the first African-led foundation working to integrate climate mitigation and adaptation into the continent’s broader economic agenda.
The transformation of African economies requires impact at a systems level to shift existing and future path dependencies at a national, regional, and international level and across key economic sectors.
We believe that climate change interventions have immense potential to unlock new opportunities for development in Africa.
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To realise this potential we need to rethink development framing in three ways:
- Firstly, climate change can’t continue to be viewed separately from questions of development.
- Then, climate change must be brought to the forefront of development thinking and planning in Africa.
Rich countries’ priorities pervaded engagement with the continent, including development assistance.
This conceptual integration of economic development with climate issues has been one of our biggest achievements.
The increasing frequency and intensity of climate events are directly affecting critical infrastructure and key economic sectors.
And without the appropriate support interlinked with broader economic issues, climate risks get to be treated as an aid and humanitarian concern.
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For example, the EU plans to impose tariffs on carbo-intensive imported goods will disproportionately impact Africa and conflict with Africa’s development needs.
It is these types of issues that the ACF is seeking to address so the continent is better prepared for the decarbonisation transition through a stronger voice and not be a victim but a beneficiary of these transition processes given the continent’s vast solar, wind, and minerals resources.
Between April 2020 and December 2022, we have disbursed 84 grants worth more than $6 million.
Currently, only 2-3% of annual philanthropic funding spent globally reaches Africa.
One of our first projects was to support partners in South Africa to design a way out of coal and embed the concept of “justice” in the energy transition discourse.
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This early work encountered phenomenal success.
Other African nations, including Senegal, Nigeria, and Namibia, are interested in similar support.
We are opening a space for African voices to become a part of the global conversation about the climate and development nexus.
In 2021, we launched a lecture series on the topic at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town.
From high-level political diplomacy to locally-led blueprints for resilient societies, the ACF continues to work across three critical and interconnected levers of change.
Renewable energy potential in Africa.
At the national level, we are supporting countries that use climate action and clean technologies as economic opportunities.
And at the local level, we are strengthening campaigns promoting alternative development models in communities that are highly dependent on fossil fuels - a new form of engagement which we are trialling in the coal mine areas of South Africa.
Coal will not be a viable economic option for coal mining areas in the long term and so we are keen to work with local communities to develop their own alternative vision of a world without coal.
This is about building bold, socio-economic movements that support livelihoods away from extractive industries and that can hold the state and the private sector accountable for this transition.
Climate finance flows to Africa.
Here's a summary of ACF's key activities and focus areas:
| Focus Area | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Integration | Integrating climate considerations into Africa's broader economic agenda. | Supporting the design of pathways out of coal in South Africa, promoting "justice" in the energy transition. |
| Amplifying African Voices | Ensuring African perspectives are part of the global climate and development conversation. | Launching a lecture series at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance. |
| Supporting National and Local Initiatives | Promoting climate action as an economic opportunity at the national level and alternative development models at the local level. | Supporting countries using clean technologies and engaging with coal-dependent communities in South Africa. |
