COP27: Team Europe steps up support for climate change adaptation and resilience in Africa under Global Gateway

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

Today at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, the EU and the African Union announced a new Team Europe Initiative on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience in Africa as part of the EU-Africa Global Gateway Investment Package. This Team Europe Initiative will bring together existing and new climate change adaptation programmes of over €1 billion and leverage its impact by improved coordination and a reinforced  policy dialogue on adaptation between the EU and AU. This includes €60 million for loss and damage from the overall EU contribution.

It will enhance cooperation with African partners to further respond to their adaptation needs and mitigate disaster risks. The Initiative is launched by the European Commission together with Denmark, France, Germany and the Netherlands and is open to other Member States and development banks, which can further strengthen and accelerate Team Europe’s coordinated action in this field.  

Four pillars of action:

The Initiative is structured across four pillars of action:

• Reinforcing early warning systems at regional and national level, strengthening governance, and promoting risk-informed decisions – in line with the UN initiative “Early Warning Systems for All” unveiled by UN Secretary-General Guterres at COP 27;
• Developing and implementing Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (CDRFI) tools and mechanisms – such as innovative climate risk insurance products – to further protect vulnerable populations in support of e.g. the Global Shield against Climate Risks. This initiative aims to provide climate-vulnerable countries with rapid access to insurance and disaster protection funding after floods or drought.
• Increasing public sector readiness and supporting mechanisms to mobilise international climate finance on adaptation, including from the private sector.
• Supporting climate risk data collection, aggregation and analysis to improve relevant decision-making processes;

Background

African countries have already suffered unprecedented climate events in the course of this century. By 2050, climate impacts could cost African countries $50 billion annually. The EU, its Member States and financial institutions, collectively known as Team Europe, is the world’s leading contributor of development assistance and the world’s biggest climate finance contributor, providing at least a third of the world’s public climate finance. This Team Europe Initiative is part of the broader support to adaptation to climate change that the EU and EU Member States are delivering in Africa. The EU, its Member States and EU Development Finance Institutions remain the top provider of public climate finance in the world, with more than €23 billion engaged in 2021.

One of the agreed outcomes of the EU-African Union (AU) Summit in 2022 was to step up efforts on climate resilience in the coming years, notably through the EU-Africa Global Gateway Investment Package. The EU-Africa Global Gateway investment package aims to support a strong, inclusive, green and digital recovery and transformation for Africa with investments of €150 billion in total from the EU, its member States, financial institutions and the private sector. It is fully aligned with the UN’s Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals, as well as with the Paris Agreement goals.