AAAP Roundtable: Climate-Proofing Development Finance in an Era of Shrinking Resources

Roundtable dialogue alongside the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development

This roundtable dialogue will bring together representatives from African Ministries of Finance to explore how to climate-proof development finance amid tightening fiscal conditions. The dialogue, held over dinner, will offer space to share country experiences, identify practical needs, and explore innovations to overcome climate-related constraints that hinder progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Event description

Amid a tightening fiscal space and declining levels of concessional finance, the imperative to do more with less has never been greater. At the same time, the climate crisis continues to erode development gains, particularly in vulnerable countries. Traditional development finance can no longer afford to ignore climate risk. Climate-proofing development finance making resilience a core metric of value and impact is essential to protect investments, safeguard communities, and unlock new sources of capital.
 
Initiatives such as the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program, launched by the Global Center on Adaptation and the African Development Bank, show how scaled investment in adaptation delivers triple dividends: avoided losses, economic growth, and social progress. With over USD 15 billion in climate-proofed IFI investments to date, the AAAP demonstrates how to mainstream resilience into key sectors like agriculture, infrastructure, and finance.
 
Governments now have a strategic opportunity to integrate climate adaptation into public investment planning, accelerating progress toward their sustainable development. At the macroeconomic level, instruments like the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility are reshaping how sovereign climate risks are addressed and can be leveraged to strengthen adaptation and resilience.
Through collaboration with governments, IFIs, including the IMF, and Multilateral Development Banks, and the financial sector across 37 countries, the Global Center on Adaptation provides the evidence-based and scalable approach for the integration of climate adaptation into policy reform, public investment, and private sector engagement.
 
 
These resilience-building examples are necessary elements to support innovative financing efforts of countries in mobilising resources for achieving their Sustainable Development Goals. As countries operationalize their Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs), climate adaptation must be treated not as a standalone environmental issue but as an essential pillar of development finance.
 
AAAP ROUNDTABLE: A CALL FOR ACTION!
This roundtable dialogue will bring together representatives from African Ministries of Finance to explore how to climate-proof development finance amid tightening fiscal conditions. The dialogue, held over dinner, will offer space to share country experiences, identify practical needs, and explore innovations to overcome climate-related constraints that hinder progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Key discussion themes:

• A New Fiscal Reality: Making the Case for Climate-Resilient Economies. Navigating trade-offs and risks amid growing climate threats and fiscal pressure, why action can no longer be delayed.
• Scaling What Works: Country Innovations in Climate-Proofing Finance. Sharing policies and investment strategies that integrate climate adaptation into national planning and budgeting.
• Mobilizing Capital for Resilience: Public-Private Pathways. Exploring how to catalyze private sector engagement and unlock domestic and international finance to support resilient growth and inclusive development.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES
By fostering a shared understanding of what “climate-proofing” finance means in practice and grounded in real-world examples and country-led innovations, the dialogue will produce an outcome document capturing key insights and recommendations from the dialogue.
 
These outcomes will be highlighted beyond the Summit, helping to build momentum toward COP30 and reinforcing support for the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program as a flagship platform for scaled, country-driven action.