(Ecofin Agency) - The report highlights that this record is nearly four times below the continent's needs, which are projected to reach around $190 billion annually by 2030.

Climate funding for African countries surpassed $50 billion for the first time in 2022, according to a report released on October 23 by the Climate Policy Initiative, a think tank comprised of 90 experts.

Titled "Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa 2024," the report highlights that the continent received $52.1 billion in climate financing in 2022, sharply up from $35.2 billion in 2021 and $30.4 billion in 2020. Much of this rise is attributed to the revival of various projects that had been put on hold due to COVID-19. However, it does not indicate a sustainable upward trend.

The surge in climate financing in Africa in 2022 was largely driven by public funding, which made up 82% of the amount mobilized. Multilateral development finance institutions were the main sources of climate funding on the continent. They increased grants and concessional loans, contributing 43% of the total flow and 53% of public funding on average during the 2021-2022 period.

Private sector funding nearly doubled from 2019-2020 to 2021-2022, reaching an average of $8 billion per year. However, funding from domestic African sources accounted for only 10% of the total climate financing received by the continent's 54 countries.

Despite the increase due to temporary factors in 2022, only about 20% of the annual funding required to implement nationally determined contributions (NDCs) is currently mobilized. NDCs refer to the efforts each country must undertake to reduce its emissions and adapt to climate change impacts, as outlined in the Paris Agreement.

The report also notes that Africa's climate financing needs are estimated at around $190 billion per year by 2030. To implement NDCs effectively, funding flows need to increase nearly fourfold compared to the exceptional levels of 2022.

Without immediate action, the future costs of responding to the climate crisis on the continent will far exceed the current financing needs. Experts estimate that the cost of inaction could reach 20% of the continent's GDP by 2050 and 64% to 80% of GDP by 2100. These economic losses are just the tip of the iceberg. Broader social and security costs, such as rising food insecurity and hunger, heat-related mortality and morbidity, ecosystem degradation, and increased conflicts and migration, are not sufficiently accounted for.