Egypt, US Announce over $150 Million to Aid Africa’s Adaptation to Climate Change at COP27

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt – 12 November 2022: The United States of America has pledged more than $150 million aid for Africa’s adaptation to climate change impact, announced United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, on the sidelines of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh City on Friday

During the “Advancing Adaptation in Africa” witch was co-hosted with the US special envoy, COP27 President Sameh Shoukry said that “Egypt as COP27 President and as an Africa nation, well aware of the adaptation challenges facing our continent, is pleased to have collaborated over the past year with the United States to develop a diverse package of support for Africa in the field of adaptation and resilience.”

The package of initiatives and pledges aim at accelerating implementation and action on the ground in support of adaptation in Africa.

“We are completely committed to working together with our partners to support vulnerable communities in their efforts to, sadly, have to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Something that everyone whether in developed, developing or emerging economies are impacted by,” said Kerry.

The aid pledged:

1.     USD $13.6 million for a Systematic Observations Financing Facility that will help fill weather, water, and climate observation gaps in Africa.

2.     USD $15 million to support the co-development and deployment of early-warning systems in Africa to cut the number of people who need emergency assistance in half by 2030 - and from 200 million to just 10 million by 2050.

3.     USD $10 million to support the launch of a new adaptation center in Egypt – the Cairo Center for Learning and Excellence on Adaptation and Resilience, announced by Egypt, to build adaptation capacity across Africa.

4.     USD $2 million to the Resilience and Adaptation Mainstreaming Program to build the capacity of governments to manage climate risks and access finance.

5.     USD $3.5 million in support for the Least Developed Countries Initiative for Effective Adaptation & Resilience, helping African countries like Uganda, Malawi, Gambia, and Burkina Faso to enhance access to adaptation finance for the most vulnerable.

6.     Expanding access to risk-based insurance for the most vulnerable by supporting regional risk insurance pools, including contributing USD $12 million to the Africa Disaster Risk Financing Program and USD $12 million to ARC Ltd.

7.     USD $25 million to the African Union’s flagship Africa Adaptation Initiative (AAI), which is hosted by the Egyptian government, to launch the AAI Food Security Accelerator, which will dramatically speed- and scale-up private sector investments in climate resilient food security in Africa.

8.     Encouraging private sector innovation through USD $3.8 million to CRAFT TA Facility, and USD $2 million to launch an adaptation window of the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance to help develop new financial instruments and mechanisms to harness private investment in adaptation.

9.     USD $100 million in adaptation funding in FY 2022 to support food systems.