President William Ruto addressing the high-level reflection on the Pact for the Future at the African Union and the Economic Commission for Africa in New York, September 22. /PCSAfrica faces an annual climate adaptation finance gap of between $200 billion and $400 billion (about Sh25.8 trillion and Sh51.6 trillion), President William Ruto has said, warning that funding is declining even as the continent's climate needs grow.
Ruto said Africa must rethink and expand its climate finance options, arguing that existing commitments must translate into actual funding and projects.
“The world does not lack climate pledges. It lacks delivery,” Ruto said on Tuesday as he opened a meeting of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change in New York.
He said Africa must use its common position to push for greater delivery of climate finance as it prepares for the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye.
Ruto said official development assistance fell by 23 per cent in 2025, while funding under the Global Environment Facility had also declined.
The ninth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility secured initial pledges of $3.9 billion, compared with $5.33 billion under the previous replenishment.
“Funding is declining when needs are rising,” he said.
Ruto said the financing shortfall was particularly concerning for climate adaptation, with the annual gap estimated at between $200 billion and $400 billion.
He noted that countries agreed at the climate conference in Belém last year to triple adaptation finance, but said the commitment had yet to translate into adequate resources.
The Adaptation Fund secured about $138 million against a target of $300 million, he said.
“Climate finance is not charity. It is an obligation under the Convention and the Paris Agreement,” Ruto said.
He called on African countries to remain active in global climate negotiations and press for existing commitments to be honoured.
Ruto said COP31 should turn the Belém commitment into a credible pathway for delivering adaptation finance, while adaptation should become the defining deliverable of COP32, which will be held in Addis Ababa.
He also linked climate action to economic growth, saying Africa's approach should focus on investment, job creation, resilience and low-carbon development.
The President said climate action should no longer be viewed simply as a cost, but as a pathway to growth and investment.
He said Africa's climate agenda should focus on implementation of existing pledges rather than creating new commitments without mechanisms for delivery.
The meeting in New York is intended to help African countries forge common positions ahead of COP31.
Ruto said the continent must push for an African climate agenda centred on adaptation, implementation, investment and climate-positive growth.
