Africa Adaptation Summit – Chrysoula Zacharopoulou announces France’s increased support for climate change adaptation in Africa (Rotterdam, 5 September 2022)

Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, attended yesterday’s Africa Adaptation Summit in the Dutch city of Rotterdam.

As Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna had said at the Ambassadors’ Conference on September 2, African nations are among the hardest hit by the effects of climate change. They therefore have specific needs and expectations that we must help meet. And if partnerships are established, we will contribute to them, because our funding for development will continue to rise.

At the Rotterdam summit, the minister of state announced that France would provide €10 million in funding for the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP). This makes France one of the largest contributors to that initiative. In the long term, France’s contribution to the AAAP should amount to €1 billion in funding for adaptation projects in Africa, some of which will be implemented by the French Development Agency (AFD).

The summit also stepped up European-African cooperation on climate change adaptation ahead of the COP27 Climate Change Conference that will be held this November in Egypt.

Underscoring “the state of the climate emergency,” the minister of state reaffirmed France and President Macron’s exemplary commitment to the climate. Six billion euros are allocated each year to combat climate change in developing countries. One third of this amount is earmarked for adaptation.

On the sidelines of the forum, Ms. Zacharopoulou met with the presidents of Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ghana, and with Amina Mohamed, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, and Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the African Union Commission.