Denmark’s EU Presidency: A Crucial Moment to Elevate the Africa-Europe Climate Adaptation Partnership

As Denmark assumes the EU presidency in the lead-up to COP30 and the 7th African-Union-European Union Heads of State Summit, the stakes could not be higher. This pivotal moment presents a unique opportunity for the European Union to demonstrate global climate leadership by deepening its partnership with Africa, one of the continents most vulnerable to climate change impacts and risks despite contributing minimally to historical global emissions.

The Danish presidency, coinciding with major international events such as the second Africa Climate Summit, the 80th anniversary of the UN General Assembly, and the first G20 in Africa under the presidency of South Africa, must prioritize climate diplomacy that listens to and acts on African priorities and ambitions.

Africa’s climate reality is stark: frequent droughts, devastating floods, and rising temperatures threaten food and water availability, health, economic growth, social stability, and regional security. These impacts undermine human development gains and future economic prospects across the continent. Yet, Africa’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions remains small compared to Europe’s historical and current footprint. This asymmetry calls for a climate partnership rooted in justice, equity, and solidarity.

The EU must seize this moment to scale up support for climate adaptation in Africa, recognizing adaptation action and finance as equally urgent and important as mitigation. COP30 should be the venue where the EU commits to a new, ambitious adaptation finance goal that goes beyond the current pledge to double adaptation finance by 2025 compared to 2019. Given the rapidly escalating climate impacts, drastically scaling up adaptation finance, and easing delivery and access is essential to meet growing needs and close the glaring finance gap—currently around 32% of climate finance reaching Africa goes towards adaptation.

Moreover, adaptation finance must be accessible, predictable, and tailored to local needs and priorities. Many African countries face high debt burdens, limiting their fiscal space to invest in resilience. The EU should therefore prioritize mobilizing grants and concessional financing over loans, while advocating for reforms in the international financial architecture to ease access and empower regional and local institutions. Decentralizing climate finance delivery through regional offices and local banking institutions can accelerate implementation and ensure funds reach communities on the frontlines.

The Africa-Europe climate partnership must also embrace an integrated approach. Adaptation is not just an environmental issue; it intersects with health, food security, infrastructure, peace, and economic development. In Africa, for example, the climate crisis is entangled in social and economic underdevelopment, inequalities, and an water-energy-food poverty crisis. Aligning adaptation with broader socio-economic goals generates tangible benefits for communities and ehances a foundational condition for effective and sustained adaptation and resilience action.

The upcoming 7th AU-EU Heads of State Summit offers a critical platform for both continents to articulate shared priorities and commit to concrete, context-specific actions as well as to elevate climate adaptation at the heart of a transformative cross-continental Partnership.

Technology development and transfer, together with knowledge exchange and capacity sharing, are also vital pillars of the AU-EU partnership. Expertise in green technologies, early warning systems, and climate-smart and precision agriculture can complement local innovations and traditional knowledge. Facilitating technology transfer and joint research will enhance adaptive capacities, create jobs, and open new markets for sustainable growth.

Finally, diverse and inclusive dialogues are essential for building trust and ownership. The EU must engage a broad spectrum of African stakeholders—including civil society, youth, and indigenous communities—to co-create adaptation strategies and solutions while making existing initiatives more effective, such as the €1 billion ‘Team Europe Initiative for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience in Africa’, launched by the EU and a number of member states at COP27, including Denmark.

Denmark’s EU presidency stands at a crossroads. By championing an ambitious, equitable, and action-oriented Africa-Europe climate adaptation agenda, it can catalyze a partnership that safeguards lives, livelihoods, and peace on both continents. Failure to act decisively risks undermining global climate goals and exacerbating inequalities that fuel regional instability and displacement.

Getting this right calls for an acknowledgment of the urgency, complexity, diversity, and evolving nature of climate adaptation needs and challenges in different contexts. This demands equitable, innovative, and scalable financial solutions—rooted in strong Africa-Europe partnership, local empowerment, transparent governance, and integrated approaches that prioritize vulnerable communities, accelerate sustainable development, and ensure no one is left behind in the race against the climate crisis.

To guide Africa, Europe, and the world toward a prosperous and climate-resilient future, adaptation solutions and actions emerging from the AU-EU Partnership, the 7th AU-EU Summit, the second Africa Climate Summit, and COP 30 must be aligned with the needs, values, and priorities of people on the ground.

Therefore, the message from Denmark and the EU must be clear: climate adaptation is not a side issue, but a central pillar of climate justice and sustainable development. The time for bold leadership and solidarity is now.