The need to tackle climate change is as well accepted in Africa as anywhere else in the world – and perhaps more so because the impact is already being felt on the continent. Ramping up oil, gas and coal production will only help increase average temperatures, but Africa’s role in creating the problem has been limited, and this should be recognised in any global strategies to rein in fossil fuel use. The G20, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and other international organisations have a key role to play here.
Africa is responsible for only 3.6% of global carbon emissions from fossil fuel use and has far lower per capita emissions than any other region. Yet while the US is trying to increase oil production and China is building 94.5 GW of new coal-fired power plants – 50% more than South Africa’s entire stock of coal-fired plants – the international community is asking African countries to leave undeveloped fossil fuel resources in the ground.
The principle that the international community must help finance renewable energy development in return for African countries foregoing hydrocarbon and coal production, and the valuable income that such projects can bring, has been widely accepted at a series of UN COP meetings. It is also recognised that such funding must help raise the proportion of Africans with access to electricity from the current level of about 50%, as well as help rein in emissions.
Yet while many Western banks now avoid financing oil and coal projects in Africa, the flow of clean energy financing remains insufficient to meet the continent’s needs.
Africa needs an investment of $200 billion a year by 2030 to achieve universal access to electricity while meeting climate change pledges, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Indeed, climate finance for Africa has increased from about $30 billion in 2019-20 to $44 billion for 2021-22, but this is still far below what is needed. Moreover, the private sector provides just 18% of total African climate finance flows, far below regional averages elsewhere, according to the Climate Policy Initiative.
One of the main mechanisms for providing the required finance is Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs). These are country-led agreements between developing countries and a group of Western countries to mobilise public and private finance for low-carbon projects in return for commitments on renewables or energy sector emissions. They combine grants, concessional loans, policy support, and private-sector mobilisation to help countries invest in clean energy infrastructure and related reforms.
However, just four JETPs have been signed since they began in 2021: with South Africa and Senegal in Africa and Indonesia and Vietnam in Asia. The $12.8 billion agreed for South Africa is designed to help the country move away from its reliance on coal, but 94% of the money takes the form of concessional loans rather than grants. Senegal’s $2.7 billion JETP package is designed to help increase the proportion of renewables in the generation mix to 40% by 2030, mainly through solar investment, with some support for rural electrification. According to the Senegal government, renewables currently account for 30% of the country’s generation mix, including 10 solar projects totalling 226 MW, a 158 MW wind power plant, and 75 MW of hydro. The figure stood at just 20% in 2020.
While further JETPs have been mooted, including for Nigeria, India and the Philippines, the slow pace of new partnerships has cast doubt on the future of the scheme in its current form. As part of the huge cuts to overseas aid by President Donald Trump, the US withdrew from the JETP programme in early 2025, taking $56 million in grant funding and $1 billion in commercial finance from the South African commitment. The other partners, including the UK, Denmark, the EU, France, Germany and the Netherlands, are working to fill the shortfall.
It seems likely that further deals will take the form of country platforms, which are not one-off deals but rather longer-term coordination frameworks for aligning all climate and development finance around a country’s national transition plan. However, how these could act as conduits for wealthier nations to finance the energy transition in developing countries remains to be seen.
The G20 can play a role in influencing the future of international support for Africa’s energy transition. When the African Union (AU) became a permanent member of the G20 in 2023, it gave the continent two permanent members, given South Africa’s established presence on the body. The G20 does not finance African renewable projects directly or negotiate fossil-fuel phase-out deals, but it does hold influence over multilateral development banks and helps shape the rules and priorities of global finance.
It has already helped persuade multinational banks to take on more risk in low-income countries, increase climate and renewable energy lending, and reform capital rules to lend more without raising costs. In addition, most JETP donor countries are also G20 members, and the idea of a just transition has been reinforced in G20 meetings, alongside the argument that clean energy investment must promote development and energy access, not just emissions cuts.
Partly as a result, multilateral banks and other Africa-focused organisations are increasing their investment. For instance, the AfDB lifted the proportion of its investment committed to climate finance from 9% in 2016 to about 55% in 2023. Its support ranges from small projects to large schemes, from investing $8 million in the 32 MW Ilute solar project in Zambia to supporting the Desert to Power Initiative to deliver 10 GW of solar power for 250 million people.
As international political trends affect enthusiasm for financing the continent’s energy transition, some African countries are beginning to take control of their own financing, and with some success. For instance, a N50 billion ($38 million) Nigerian sovereign green bond and Lagos State’s N14.8 billion ($10.4 million) bond were oversubscribed by 2.5 times in 2025. In January this year, the Nigerian government launched its National Climate Change Fund to support investment in renewable energy and low-emissions infrastructure, using mechanisms to mobilise private-sector capital, such as green bonds and blended instruments. Blended finance uses public funds, such as grants or low-interest loans, to reduce the risk for private capital. Abuja has set a target of mobilising an initial $2 billion in investment via the fund.
Last year, the Nigerian government also launched its Climate Investment Platform, which aims to mobilise $500 million in climate-related finance from a mix of international and domestic investors. This funding is intended for climate-resilient infrastructure, green growth projects, renewable energy deployment, resilience building and adaptation actions. The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority launched a $500 million Distributed Renewable Energy Fund in March 2025 to support local financing, while Abuja has pledged to reduce gas flaring under its Energy Transition Plan, which targets net-zero emissions by 2060.
Main international mechanisms for financing African renewable energy development
| Mechanism | Financing | Aim |
| Just Energy Transition Partnerships | • South Africa: $12.8 billion but just 6% as grants • Senegal: $2.7 billion, targeting 40 % renewable capacity by 2030 | Financing renewables and transmission projects in return for limiting coal, oil or gas expansion |
| Multilateral Development Banks | $137 billion global climate finance in 2024, some of it in Africa | To move public finance away from fossil fuels toward renewables and grids |
| Green Climate Fund (GCF) & other dedicated climate funds | The GCF has invested $19.3 billion globally, much of it in Africa | They provide concessional finance and grants to enable renewables without increasing fossil fuel reliance. Focus on early-stage renewables, grids and off-grid energy. |
| Blended Finance & Green Bonds | Varies by project | De-risk renewables to attract private capital into the sector instead of fossil fuels. |
| EU-Africa Energy & Trade Partnerships | €545 million committed in 2025 | Support clean energy infrastructure over fossil-fuel-based trade |
Dr Neil Alexander Ford has been a freelance consultant and journalist on African affairs for more than two decades. He covers a wide range of topics from international relations and organised crime to cross-border trade and renewable energy. Consultancy clients include international organisations, law firms and financial services companies, and he has acted as an expert witness in Africa-related legal cases. He has a PhD on East Africa’s international boundaries, ranging over the effect on regional economies; cross-border political disputes; and the impact of the boundaries on local communities, such as the Maasai.
