Ethiopia to host Africa’s next climate summit amid unkept promises
AU Commission Chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf met with Ethiopia's foreign minister, Gedion Timothewos, on Monday to discuss preparations for the forthcoming summit.
Ethiopia will host the next Africa Climate Summit, stepping in to prevent a leadership vacuum after no other country volunteered to pick up the mantle from Kenya's inaugural gathering.
Yet the summit's predecessor—Nairobi 2023—remains mired in inertia, with key commitments to drive the continent's green transition still largely unfulfilled.
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AU Commission Chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf met with Ethiopia's foreign minister, Gedion Timothewos, on Monday to discuss preparations for the forthcoming summit.
According to the AU, the pair reaffirmed their dedication to inclusive planning, collective ownership, and strategic coherence—a nod to the political complexity of Africa's climate agenda.
The urgency is real: Africa's climate debate has exposed deep rifts among member states.
At this year's AU Summit, President William Ruto, who chairs the African leaders' climate change committee, offered to host the event again should no other country step forward.
His report, reviewed by this outlet, highlighted the reluctance of African states to embrace the responsibility, forcing the bid to be reopened.
Ethiopia's hosting is a pragmatic solution given its role as the AU headquarters.
Yet Nairobi's experience highlights the challenge: while the first summit co-hosted by Kenya and the AU Commission aimed to catalyse green growth and climate finance solutions, the outcome fell short.
Only 20 of the continent's 55 leaders attended, and a lack of consensus on climate finance and action marred the summit's legacy.
As Ethiopia prepares to host, the continent's climate future is hanging in the balance, caught between declarations and delivery, unity and fragmentation.
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