Q&A: Macky Sall on a new $50bln plan to climate-proof Africa

• African leaders call for climate cash
• Aid cuts add strain to continent's needs
• Private companies stepping up to fill gaps

JOHANNESBURG, BRUSSELS - From mangrove restoration along West Africa's coastline to organic waste recycling in Nairobi, billions of dollars have been spent to help Africa adapt to climate shocks like floods, droughts and heatwaves. 

This week, African leaders at the African Climate Summit in Ethiopia called for more international funding support for phase two of the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), which has supported these efforts since 2021. 

The continent needs some $70 billion a year for adaptation, the research organisation Climate Policy Initiative found, but it said this figure sat around $14.8 billion in 2023 and is at risk of falling further as donors cut. 

African leaders warned that would be a moral breach, considering Africa is the continent most impacted by climate change despite contributing less than 10% to global carbon emissions, according to the World Meteorological Organization. 

Macky Sall, president of Senegal from 2012 to 2024 and now chair of the Global Center on Adaptation, which leads the AAAP, spoke to Context about what funding cuts could mean for Africa.

This week The Global Centre on Adaptation announced the AAAP 2.0. How will this be different to what has been done before?

We are aiming for a larger target. Instead of $25 billion, we will try to have at least $50 billion over the next five years, 2026-2030, for all projects. 

For the 2.0, we think that we can reach this objective. We must convince our partners of the need to continue efforts to adapt to climate change, because otherwise, the overall result is our planet will suffer and we will all experience the consequences. 

Parts of the West are retreating from promises made to at least double adaptation finance by 2025. What does this mean for Africa?

We regret the decline in the commitment from countries in the north. It's a fact, not an accusation. 

I think that since the war in Ukraine, the focus has been on defence spending. And this military spending has come at the detriment of the climate project. 

Certainly defence issues are important, but climate (policies) must be maintained because the climate agenda is the one we have in common. 

And the industrialised countries have been the main polluters for 150 years in the name of development. They can't just turn the page and say goodbye. They must continue to make an effort alongside us to preserve adaptation efforts for developing countries. 

It is a question of responsibility and everyone must take responsibility. 

It's not just about Western countries, all the countries that are now industrialised such as China, the United States, Japan, Europe, all must work together with Africa and other countries.

Cuts to climate adaptation finance are severely complicating domestic responses across Africa. 

For many countries, this has been the critical source of capital to get adaptation programmes off the ground. Without it, too many will now stall, leaving vulnerable communities exposed.

What needs to be done differently at COP30 when it comes to Africa's adaptation and funding demands?

We will be very clear. First, we want to obtain the $50 billion over the next five years for adaptation and we even think that we must go beyond that. 

That means the efforts of the (African) states themselves, and we often forget this dimension, the part that the states put into their (national) budgets is much larger than the share of (international) partners.

So we need the states to adapt to climate change. For example, in the agriculture sector we need sustainable farming, in infrastructure projects, adaptation must be taken into account.

What are private companies pledging to do to help African countries adapt and what does that look like on the ground? 

Business is stepping up. 

African banks are committing to climate-proof their portfolios in agriculture, infrastructure and small and medium enterprises. 

Infrastructure operators are upgrading critical facilities, especially ports and logistics corridors, to withstand heat, storms and sea-level rise.

Insurers are rolling out parametric covers that pay within days after droughts or floods, keeping farmers in business and credit flowing. 

That is what partnership looks like on the ground.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

(Reporting by Kim Harrisberg; Editing by Jon Hemming)