Africa Climate Summit: Africa’s Fight Against Broken Promises in Climate Finance

Posted by OAY Kenya on 09-Sep-2025

Two years ago, in Nairobi, African leaders stood shoulder to shoulder and declared something bold: climate action would no longer be treated as a burden. It would be Africa’s growth model. That was the spirit of the Nairobi Declaration adopted at the first Africa Climate Summit in 2023. 

It framed climate action as a driver of economic growth, transformation, and job creation — and more importantly, it positioned Africa as a source of solutions, not just a victim of global warming.

Now, at the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) in Addis Ababa, President William Ruto picked up that thread. He told the world that Africa is ready — with climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, and green industrialization already taking shape across the continent. But his speech was also a challenge. 

A challenge to the international community to open the doors of finance, trade, and technology so Africa’s efforts don’t hit a ceiling.

Yet, two years later, how much of this has truly materialized? Where are the reforms in global finance? Where is the fair access to carbon markets? And most importantly, how are young people and women — who make up the majority of Africa’s population — benefiting from these promises?

Progress Made, But Who Is Benefiting?

It would be unfair to say nothing has happened. Across the continent, governments and communities are pushing forward. Kenya has expanded investments in renewable energy. Ethiopia continues to scale reforestation. Rwanda is piloting e-mobility solutions. Local entrepreneurs are developing innovations in waste management and sustainable farming.

But here is the uncomfortable truth: the benefits are not evenly distributed. Many of the jobs created in the green economy remain out of reach for young people and women because of limited access to opportunities,  skills, training, and financing.

According to the International Labour Organization, by 2030, the green transition could create up to 8.4 million jobs in Africa (ILO, 2023). But unless deliberate policies are put in place, those opportunities may bypass the very demographics most in need — the youth.. 

So the question remains: are our leaders planning with inclusion at the center, or are young people once again being asked to cheer from the sidelines?

Finance: The Stubborn Elephant in the Room

President Ruto was blunt in Addis: isolation is failure. Africa cannot go it alone, and the world must stop holding us back. He called for reforms at global financial institutions, lower borrowing costs, expanded concessional funds, and the dismantling of subsidy regimes that tilt global trade against Africa.

A 2022 report by the Climate Policy Initiative on the state of climate finance in Africa, shows that the continent receives less than 12% of global climate finance flows, despite being among the regions most vulnerable to climate change. Even more concerning is that much of this finance is provided as loans, adding to Africa’s growing debt burden.

For young people and grassroots communities, this is not abstract. It means fewer resources for adaptation projects in villages. It means limited support for youth-led climate enterprises. It means fewer safety nets for farmers facing unpredictable weather.

So, will the Addis summit push the world to finally act on fair finance? Or will this, like so many declarations before, remain ink on paper?

The Role of Youth and Women: Still Tokenistic?

Youth account for nearly 60% of Africa’s population (UN, 2023), while women remain the main managers of natural resources within households and communities. Yet, when decisions are made at the highest levels, both groups are still poorly represented.

At OAY, through the Sikiliza Sauti Yetu (SSY): Dunia Inaita Project, we have seen how powerful youth voices can be when given a platform. 

Young people in Kenya have drafted declarations, participated in national dialogues, and even influenced budget processes. But how many of those insights are filtering into the actual policy frameworks shaped by these continental summits?

It is one thing to showcase youth as “future leaders” in speeches. It is another to put them in the rooms where financing decisions are made. The gap between the rhetoric of inclusion and the reality of tokenism is still too wide.

Climate Justice: Beyond Buzzwords

The African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf captured it clearly in Addis: climate finance must be fair, significant, and predictable. This is climate justice in practice — not as a buzzword but as a demand for equity.

For Africa’s youth, climate justice means being able to access education, green jobs, and safe spaces to innovate without being crushed by systemic inequalities. For women, it means dismantling the barriers that limit their ownership of land, credit, and decision-making power.

And for all of us, it means holding leaders accountable. Every summit should not just be a platform for promises, but for progress reports. Where are the resources? Who got them? What impact have they made?

What We Do at OAY

At the Organization of African Youth-Kenya (OAY), we believe young people cannot just be spoken about in climate spaces — they must be directly involved in shaping the agenda. 

That is why we are implementing the Sikiliza Sauti Yetu (SSY): Dunia Inaita Project, a three-year initiative funded by the European Union.

The project is designed to place youth at the center of climate dialogue and action. It does this by:

• Building platforms for youth participation at national and county levels, ensuring their perspectives influence policies and decisions.

• Strengthening capacities through training in digital advocacy, fundraising, social media, crisis communication, and green skills.

• Holding activities that allow youth to share knowledge and collaborate on climate solutions.

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Activities So Far

Since its launch, SSY has already made significant strides:

We supported the formation of the Kenya Youth Climate Advisory Council (KYCAC), a nine-member body that positions young people as influencers in climate advocacy.

• Through youth forums, we’ve gathered voices from across counties, capturing challenges such as limited resources, tokenism, and lack of visibility — and turning them into actionable recommendations.

• At the Kenya National Youth Climate Action Innovation Summit 2025, youth delegates not only discussed climate solutions but also received recognition for their role in decision-making processes.

• We partnered with young people to draft and launch theSikiliza Sauti Yetu  Youth Declaration on Climate Action, which has since been shared with key decision-makers and institutions.

• We have engaged local communities, creating spaces where youth reflect on governance and raise issues that connect grassroots realities to national policy discussions.

 The Journey Ahead

Like President Ruto reminded us at ACS2, Africa cannot walk this journey alone. Neither can its youth. 

To truly unlock the potential of initiatives like SSY, we need governments, private sector, development partners, and civil society to come on board — not with token gestures, but with genuine collaboration, resources, and open spaces for young people to lead.

Africa’s climate summits are not events, but a journey. A journey towards a climate-safe future. A journey requires movement. And movement requires more than declarations; it requires accountability, inclusion, and resources.

By Lynet Okumu