About

African Heads of State launched the Africa Adaptation Initiative (AAI) to ensure the Continent urgently adapts to the adverse effects of climate change in the immediate, short, medium and longer terms. The AAI launch event took place in Paris during the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP) in December 2015.

In the last decade, African economies have been growing at a rate of 4.7%, but the challenge of climate change threatens further economic growth and impedes progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The devastating effects of climate change, which include severe droughts, floods, reduced agricultural yields, sea level rise and other climate related disasters are on the rise. By 2050, based on the current trends in global emissions, Africa’s adaptation costs could reach USD 100 billion annually (UNEP, 2014).

In launching the AAI, African Heads of State have initiated high-level pan-African and regional dialogues, adaptation action on the ground, and cross-sector processes to strengthen collaboration on adaptation across Africa. The AAI will: (i) Raise awareness of climate adaptation; (ii) Facilitate knowledge management, capacity building and capacity strengthening; (iii) Support and facilitate resource mobilization for implementation; (iv) Promote co-operation and partnerships (at sub-regional and regional levels) for synergy, scale and maximize shared benefits; (v) Track progress through monitoring and evaluation of action.

The AAI represents a bold and innovative step by Africa to galvanize the support needed to significantly scale up adaptation on the continent. The AAI is an initiative for Africa, and it is driven and coordinated by Africa. It is rooted in a mandate provided to the African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN) by the 25th African Union Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa in June 2015. At the 2015 AU Summit, AMCEN was directed to develop, with the African Group of Negotiators (AGN), a proposal for enhanced support to Africa on adaptation. The AAI was developed and launched later that year, in December 2015. Initially focussed on enhancing action in the pre-2020 period, the work plan is now focussed on achieving results for adaptation in Africa post-2020.