Africa's Fight for Climate Reparations Remains Unfinished Business

Kim Heller

COP30 was trumpeted as a turning point, where long-awaited promises would be translated into meaningful, transformative climate programmes. Hosted in Belém, Brazil, COP30 was called the “Delivery COP”.

Expectations were sky-high. Too often, though, action and accountability play second fiddle to grand acts of diplomacy, endless rounds of negotiation, and bouts of opportunism at these fancy global summits. While some are applauding progress made at COP30, others argue that it has under-delivered.  

For Africa, the COP30 outcomes may not be enough. Given the severity of the climate crisis in Africa, patience and passivity are not effective strategies. Unseasonal droughts, downpours, and windstorms have heightened food insecurity and displacement. Land, homes, infrastructure, and livelihoods have been destroyed. 

According to the African Development Bank, climate catastrophes could cause several African nations to lose up to 15% of their annual GDP growth. Developmental budgets are exhausted as African governments are forced to divert funding to address climate-change crises.

The continent, responsible for just 4% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, receives a mere 3% of total climate financing and just 10% of global adaptation funding. This is a clear reflection of the ongoing exploitative and unequal power relations between Africa and developed nations. 

Africa is being harshly penalised for a crisis not of its making, and it needs to rise collectively against this injustice.  The African Union’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) recently released a bold position paper entitled “Translating Climate Finance Promises Into Tangible Outcomes”.  

The position paper insists on climate reparations for Africa. What is consequential is that this demand is now supported by international law. The Advisory Opinion, delivered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 20 July 2025, declared that states have binding obligations under international law and treaties to protect climate systems, collaborate with vulnerable and affected countries, and provide finance, support, and technology to address loss and damage and to support climate adaptation.

During COP30, African negotiators cited this ruling to amplify their call for climate justice. What is key is that the West can no longer dismiss responsible climate action and accountability as acts of charity.  Historical accountability and reparations are now legal imperatives, and this could lead to a necessary measure of climate justice in a world of power imbalances.

ECOSOCC proposed that the target set at COP29 for developed countries to provide to developing nations—at least $300 billion per year by 2035—should be the minimum commitment and that it be adjusted upwards periodically to accommodate rising costs and requirements.  

In a significant move, COP30 committed to this as a minimum payment and set out a concrete plan (Baku–Belém) to reach $1.3 trillion annually by 2035.

Seemingly heartened and emboldened by the ICJ judgement and the proposals set out by ECOSOCC, Africa’s negotiators at COP30 appeared firm and focused. They pushed for a tripling of adaptation finance. Importantly, they insisted that this be provided as development grants rather than as disabling loans.  It is the very least that Africa should demand and receive.

Currently, climate adaptation finance is less than $30 billion annually, far below the required range of $215–387 billion, according to the UNEP Adaptation Gap Report 2023. That most of this financing is in the form of loans rather than development finance or grants is a grave injustice, as it exacerbates the paralysingly high debt burden of many African nations. COP30 committed to doubling adaptation finance to $60 billion.

While funding was not tripled as had been hoped, what was significant was the commitment to delivering this financing as grants, not loans. This took heed of the proposal by the African negotiators.

Another proposal tabled in the ECOSOCC framework was to transform the Loss and Damage Fund, which had received only around $700 million in pledges, into a more formal, permanent structure funded by contributions from wealthy nations, as well as levies on fossil-fuel extraction, aviation, and shipping. While this was agreed to at COP30, concerns about the adequacy of funding remain.

Africa has not been entirely passive on climate change. It has not waited hopelessly for international funding. Several nations have invested in constructing their own climate architecture. While this is elementary and “work in progress”, there are some strong green shoots. In Malawi, drought-resistant agro-processing is gaining traction. In Kenya, there is growing investment in climate-resilient crops. Ethiopia is developing the concept of a $50 million African Climate Facility.

Clearly,  this is not sufficient – Africa needs to put an end to fossil-fuel dependency and exploitative gas and mining projects, which continue to undermine and diminish African sustainability and economic sovereignty. At the same time, it must lobby for and win reparations for historical climate injustices and inequalities, as well as compensation for contemporary large-scale damage caused by climate change.

Indigenous Brazilians and African delegates protested at the summit against the ongoing exploitation of land and resources. Although an insufficient remedy, COP30 committed $125 billion to Brazil’s Tropical Forests Forever Facility and to protecting Indigenous communities. It is a move in the right direction.

While there were some wins at COP30, and the issue of reparations was inscribed in the records, there were no concrete outcomes on reparations for historical damage to Africa and Indigenous communities across the globe.

The African Union would do well to wield the might of international law to advance climate justice in Africa. It would be a sad day if the issue of climate reparations is not resolved before the next COP meeting, scheduled for 2027 in Africa.

* Kim Heller is a political analyst and author of No White Lies: Black Politics and White Power in South Africa.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.