Speaking on behalf of Dr. Kevin Kariuki, Vice President, Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth, Al-Hamndou Dorsouma, Acting Director of Climate Change & Green Growth Department at the African Development Bank, underscored the urgent need for accelerated adaptation action.

Dorsouma called for accelerated action against climate change while making rapid, deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to avoid a mounting loss of life, biodiversity, and infrastructure. He noted that progress on adaptation has been uneven so far, with increasing gaps between action taken and what is needed to deal with the increasing risks.

Prof. Anthony Nyong, Senior Director and Africa Regional Director at the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), highlighted the need to improve climate resilience and adaptation in Africa. He estimated the cost of climate change at $579 billion by 2030, with global finance skewed towards mitigation. Only 7.2% of global finance goes to climate adaptation.

Tanguy Gahouma-Bekale, Special Advisor to the President of the Gabonese Republic and the Permanent Secretary of the National Climate Council, endorsed the AAAP as a primary vehicle for implementing the Africa Adaptation Initiative's mandate.  The program seeks to mobilize $25 billion to accelerate climate change adaptation actions across Africa.

The AAAP is an Africa-owned and Africa-led response to the continent's expressed needs and priorities to reduce its vulnerabilities to climate change and harness the opportunities that result from climate change. Since its launch in April 2021, the AAAP upstream financing facility, managed by GCA, has enabled mainstreaming adaptation into investments worth over $3 billion.