BELEM, Brazil, November 13, 2025/APO Group: At the ongoing 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is strategically advocating the need for a climate agenda that aligns with Africa’s sustainable development and industrialisation ambitions as outlined by its President, Dr. George Elombi.
The Bank’s delegation is advocating for a pan-African climate narrative that builds on the outcomes of the African Climate Summits and previous COPs set against its engagements anchored on the core principles of the AU Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, and emphasizes the critical role of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in building climate-resilient economies.
A central pillar of the bank’s advocacy involves mobilising climate finance primarily to support the adaptation aspirations of its member countries while at the same time ensuring the swift and effective operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund. The bank is also pushing for African countries, which are disproportionately affected by climate events despite contributing less than 4 percent of global emissions, to receive adequate compensation and to develop the necessary domestic structures to access these funds.
Afreximbank, aligned with the vision of its President, Dr. George Elombi’s is spotlighting the continent’s immense potential in leveraging value addition and strategic minerals, such as championing financing for the entire value chain by transforming the Democratic Republic of Congo’s lithium into batteries, to position Africa as a hub for clean technology and create high-skilled jobs. The bank has also called for a just and equitable energy transition to recognize the continent’s rights to address energy poverty, where 600 million plus are without electricity, while drawing attention to Africa’s biodiversity, which is a key source of climate resilience absorbing harmful emissions.
Furthermore, Afreximbank is showcasing its financial initiatives, such as the Afreximbank Trade Transformation Fund (ATTF), as one of its key vehicles for de-risking and financing green projects across the continent.
Commenting on Afreximbank’s participation at COP30, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development Bank at Afreximbank, Mrs. Kanayo Awani stated: “Our mission at COP30 is clear: to ensure that Africa’s voice is not only heard but heeded. Our approach is one of proactive transformation, adding value to our abundant minerals, powering our industries with a sustainable energy mix, and leveraging the AfCFTA to build resilient, integrated economies. We are leveraging our influence to mobilise Global African capital and demand a globally recognised and supported framework for our continent’s just energy transition that ensures comprehensive climate action actively serves and reinforces Africa’s ambitions for development and industrialisation.”
