Elevating Climate Adaptation Finance at ACS-II; YOFAFA2025 Virtual Forum
With Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS-II) on the horizon, the Youth for Adaptation Finance in Africa (YAF Africa) initiative organized a Virtual Pre-YOFAFA Forum on the 12th of June 2025 to mobilize young voices across the continent and shape a unified youth position that can influence key discussions at ACS2. This pre-forum aimed to foster youth leadership, capacity-building, and policy awareness by unpacking core issues around adaptation and resilience, analyzing the state of adaptation finance in Africa, and highlighting adaptation priorities in agriculture a sector central to livelihoods across the continent. The forum had as objectives;
- To deepen youth understanding of adaptation, resilience, and Africa’s climate finance architecture.
- To explore the positioning of adaptation finance within the ACS-II and global climate negotiations.
- To assess the adaptation needs and finance gaps in African agriculture.
- To build a unified, youth-led vision and roadmap toward ACS2 and
The virtual forum was marked by two important presentations, the first one by Eugene Nforngwa on “understanding Adaptation and resilience; a foundational session to define and unpack adaptation vs mitigation and elaborating why resilience is central to African climate action, he discussed various dimensions of climate change adaptation, emphasizing its complexity and context-specific nature highlighting sectoral adaptation in agriculture, water, and health, and temporal strategies ranging from short-term coping to long-term policy changes. Local, national, and regional adaptation strategies were detailed, with a focus on youth involvement and the importance of community-based approaches. Metrics for measuring adaptation success were also discussed, including reduced vulnerability and increased adaptive capacity. The conversation underscored the critical role of youth in climate action, advocating for local engagement, innovation, and accountability in adaptation efforts.
The next presentation was that of Salem Ayenan on Adaptation Finance in Africa. His presentation summarized the urgent need for increased adaptation finance in Africa, highlighting the disproportionate impact of climate change on the continent and the significant funding gap hindering effective adaptation measures. While global and regional mechanisms exist, they are insufficient to address the magnitude of the challenge. The Youth for Adaptation Finance in Africa (YAF) initiative emerges as a crucial force, empowering youth to advocate for increased accountability, local leadership, and a more just allocation of adaptation finance.
Key Points:
- Severe Climate Impacts: Africa is warming 1.5 times faster than the global average, leading to devastating impacts on agriculture, water resources, health, ecosystems, and economic infrastructure, with potential GDP losses of up to 12% annually.
- Significant Finance Gap: Current adaptation finance covers only 5-10% of the real needs, leaving African countries significantly underfunded compared to the required $52.7 billion/year, particularly for public, non-commercial sectors.
- Barriers to Funding: Complex funding systems, donor preference for mitigation, weak political commitment in the Global North, limited local capacity, and a lack of global governance impede access to adaptation finance and exacerbate inequalities.
- Existing Mechanisms Insufficient: While initiatives like the Adaptation Fund and Green Climate Fund exist, access remains difficult, and overall funding falls short of the required scale. Emerging frameworks offer promise but need stronger commitments.
- YAF Initiative: A Catalyst for Change: YAF empowers youth to demand justice in adaptation finance through advocacy, policy dialogues, national consultations, digital mobilization, and YOFAFA forums. By working directly with communities, YAF Africa demonstrates the power of youth-led action in driving impactful change.
OUR CALL
Africa is not just facing a climate crisis, it is facing a justice crisis. Adaptation finance in Africa is critically underfunded, leaving the continent vulnerable to the escalating impacts of climate change. Addressing the finance gap requires overcoming systemic barriers, strengthening global commitments, and empowering local leadership. While the devasting impact of climate change affects our farms, homes, health systems and economies, adaptation finance remains far below what is needed. This is not about charity, but fairness. Those who contribute most to this crisis must and should take responsibility, yet mitigation continues to dominate investments, leaving adaptation underfunded and delayed. This is why the African youth, through the Youth for Adaptation Finance in Africa (YAF Africa) are rising to lead
The YAF Africa initiative exemplifies the potential of youth-led advocacy in driving change and ensuring a more just and equitable allocation of adaptation resources for the future of Africa. We are building a bold, United movement through the African youth statement to demand for more than double the adaptation finance flow to Africa, not as a dream but as a demand grounded in justice, data and lived realities.
