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As the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) closed on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, African leaders reiterated their commitment to scaling up renewable energy and underscored the urgent need for international cooperation to deliver a just transition.
Reaffirming the target of generating 300 GW of renewable energy by 2030, they called for a tenfold increase in global renewable energy investment in Africa, from 2% to 20%, to ensure a fair and sustainable global energy transition.
The call for collaboration echoes the vision of the proposed Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, which seeks to foster international cooperation to facilitate an equitable transition from fossil fuels and a financed shift to renewables. The Treaty is built on three pillars: Global Just Transition: Mobilising fair finance, technology transfer, and debt relief so no country, community, or worker is left behind; Fair Phase Out: Phasing out existing fossil fuel production equitably, with wealthier nations moving first and fastest; and ending new coal, oil, and gas projects.
The Addis Declaration, ACS2’s official outcome, also urged developed nations to honor climate finance commitments for adaptation and mitigation, and called for reforms to make international finance fair, accessible, and non-debt creating. It emphasized the need for debt resolution mechanisms to ease the growing burden many African nations face.
Seble Samuel, Head of Africa Campaigns & Advocacy, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, said: “As African nations demonstrate critical renewable energy ambition, these plans risk being undermined by inadequate financing, an unjust global financial architecture and so-called transitional fuels that would only serve to delay a real transition. Africa has the potential to lead the renewable energy revolution, but the conditions must be right. International cooperation is essential to unlock a global energy transition rooted in justice. The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty offers a framework to foster that cooperation and deliver a fair and financed transition to renewable energy.”
Omar Elmawi, Convener, Africa Movement of Movements, said: “The second Africa Climate Summit will be remembered as a landmark moment where African nations firmly placed adaptation at the center of the continent’s climate agenda. Leaders reaffirmed the ambitious goal of 300 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 and boldly called for at least $1.3 trillion in climate finance by 2035, insisting that 20% of global renewable energy financing be directed to Africa, and crucially, in the form of grants rather than loans.
“However, the summit was not without its shortcomings. The inclusion of ‘transitional fuels’ in the declaration leaves the door open for new gas projects, risking the creation of stranded assets. And while the $1.3 trillion demand is critical, pushing its delivery out to 2035 risks coming a decade too late for communities already facing the brunt of the climate crisis.”
As the summit draws to a close, the challenge ahead is to turn ambition into action, advancing a just transition and leveraging international cooperation and initiatives such as the proposed Fossil Fuel Treaty to complement existing frameworks and deliver lasting change for Africa and the world.
Momentum for the Fossil Fuel Treaty is already growing, with 17 nations in the Pacific, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia engaged in discussions. In joining this bloc of nations, African nations would have a critical opportunity to shape the terms of a Treaty that secures the finance, technology, and cooperation needed to power a just, renewable-driven future.
