Climate talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, scheduled to wrap up on Friday, will continue through at least Saturday, according to Egyptian media outlets citing Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. Shoukry said he remains concerned about many outstanding issues at the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Shoukry met with United Nations…
President Joe Biden of the United States announced a new US$100 million commitment to the climate Adaptation Fund and an additional $150 million in new support for the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE) efforts across Africa. The announcement, made during Biden’s speech to COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt,…
President William Ruto of Kenya made the African case for climate action at COP27 on Monday, focusing on loss and damage funding and delays he called “cruel and unjust” as Africans already experience catastrophic impacts. “Loss and damage is not an abstract topic of endless dialogue: it is our daily…
The latest International Monetary Fund forecast for sub-Saharan Africa calls for continued slow economic growth through 2022, with similar conditions next year —an outlook that remains highly uncertain, the IMF said. “Late last year, sub-Saharan Africa appeared to be on a strong recovery path out of a long pandemic,” said…
Hard-hit Nigeria is by no means the only African nation dealing with severe impacts from climate change. A new assessment from the World Food Program (WFP) identifies 19 countries in Central and West Africa dealing with floods caused by excessive rainfall. Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Gambia and Chad are…
With COP27 in Egypt just a month away, global leaders have stepped up the call for changes in international financing entities to better facilitate the climate transition, especially in some of the world’s most challenged nations. Frans Timmermans, the executive vice president for the European Union Green New Deal, said…
African leaders speaking at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York laid out their case for how the destabilized global environment is impacting their nations, with food insecurity due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict a priority. The leaders of Ghana, Nigeria, and Rwanda were among those speaking at Wednesday’s…
The World Bank has formally launched its US$93 billion in funding commitments to help low-income countries build up their economies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other setbacks, with funds sourced in part from 52 donor nations through the IDA20 replenishment. The funding is meant to target “overlapping crises—climate…
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is inviting private sector organizations in the Central Africa region to reach out with plans for viable projects, now that there’s an additional US$5 billion in funding through the AfDB Enhanced Private Sector Assistance (EPSA) program. Priority projects focus on providing power and connectivity, as…
A high-level meeting in Gabon has African leaders focused on how the continent can provide solutions to the global climate crisis, with President Ali Bongo Ondimba welcoming ministers and delegates from 42 nations as well as United Nations representatives. “In less than three months, the UN Climate Change conference will…
The West African nation of Togo is set to become the home of a new African Center for Coordination and Research in Cybersecurity. The central hub, to be located in Lomé, will serve to collect cybersecurity information and intelligence for the region, in an effort to support a “true African…
As the United States steps up its diplomatic efforts in Africa ahead of a December leaders summit, China is pushing back against claims of Chinese “debt traps” for African nations made by Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, during her African tour on food security. Thomas-Greenfield, who…
President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana, right, served as speaker during a discussion of technology and digital services as part of Wednesday’s opening sessions of the U.S.-Africa Business Summit 2022 in Morocco. Masisi said he welcomed the opportunity to promote African economic development and opportunity, while making a specific case for…
Ghanaian politicians took to the airwaves on Monday, defending their decision to work toward an International Monetary Fund financing deal in order to pull out a country mired in economic crisis. “Times are hard globally and locally too,” said information minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, in one of several media interviews…
Another €600 million is headed to African nations as well as other parts of the world, after the European Commission approved additional food security aid it says is needed because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The humanitarian assistance will come from the reserves of the European Development Fund, according to Ursula…