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Aug 29, 2025, 3:43:33 PM (11 days ago) Aug 29

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UN Climate Change – Global Climate Action

28 August 2025

Climate High-Level Champions'

Newsletter

In this month’s edition: Africa’s green industrial revolution takes centre stage at Climate Week 2 (CW2) and the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) in Addis Ababa. We also take a look at some of the cities — like Rio and São Paulo — driving forward the Action Agenda. Plus, a preview of COP 30’s thematic days.

Countdown to UNFCCC Climate Week 2 and the Second Africa Climate Summit

Africa is gearing up to host a pivotal moment in climate diplomacy as both Climate Week 2 (CW2) and the second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2), take place in Addis Ababa this September.

ACS2 will highlight Africa’s ability to usher in a new era of climate leadership, accelerating its green transition at home, while CW2 will address the global climate agenda in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 30) in November.

Friendship Park, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo by Yohannes Minas, Unsplash.

What is UNFCCC Climate Week 2 in Addis Ababa?

The second Climate Week (CW2) is a global event focused on strengthening regional and international cooperation on climate action. As part of UN Climate Change’s climate week programming, the gathering is designed to connect national governments with business, civil society groups, investors, subnational representatives, and others ahead of COP 30.

Held from September 1-6 in Ethiopia, CW2 will include four days reserved for mandated, Party-led events. The remaining two days will focus on non-State actors through what organizers are calling the “Implementation Forum”, which will contain a series of events from the COP 30 incoming Presidency, to roundtables with policymakers and business and subnationals, as well as implementation labs The latter will highlight real-world, replicable solutions in agriculture, carbon markets, energy access, forests, and sustainable cities.

Dan Ioschpe, COP 30 Climate High-Level Champion and Nigar Arpadarai, COP 29 Climate High-Level Champion will be on-site throughout the week to support the forum and rally stakeholders around the Action Agenda.

What is the Second Africa Climate Summit ‘ACS2’?

ACS2 will take place September 8-10, directly following CW2. Where CW2 focuses on broad engagement and technical dialogue for a global climate audience, ACS2 is a gathering of heads of state, ministers and financiers to chart Africa’s climate future.

Expectations are high. The last Africa Climate Summit in 2023 secured more than USD 20 billion in pledges for green growth and adaptation. It also produced the Nairobi Declaration, a collective call for greater investment in renewables and carbon markets.

On the Agenda: The green transition and adaptation finance

A major theme for Africa at both climate events will be the continent’s green industrial revolution. Africa holds some of the world’s largest reserves of critical minerals essential for batteries, electric vehicles, and clean technologies. It also has some of the best solar and wind resources, alongside the youngest workforce in the world.

But without deliberate policy and financing, Africa could remain trapped as a supplier of raw materials while others capture the value of clean-tech manufacturing. With the right investment and trade reforms, however, the continent could manufacture batteries, process green steel and cement, and export clean energy itself. Many of these projects are already gaining traction from green hydrogen projects in Namibia to a new green industrial park in Kenya. If these projects continue to scale, it could create millions of jobs and fuel immense growth.

Also on the docket: adaptation finance. Africa is among the hardest hit by climate impacts, despite contributing less than 4 per cent of global emissions. Yet the continent receives only 20 per cent of global adaptation finance (about USD 13 billion annually). Closing this gap will be a central focus at CW2, building on discussions from NAP Expo 2025 in Kenya earlier this month.

Inside Africa’s Green Transition

Ahead of CW2, we spoke with Reitumetse Molotsoane, Africa Director for the Climate Champions Team, about Africa’s role in global climate leadership. Her main takeaway? “Africa’s opportunity is immense. While there are longstanding structural barriers to economic growth that must be broken, African countries aren’t locked into legacy infrastructure and ways of thinking. This creates space to leapfrog directly into more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable models.”

Read the full interview.

Brazil Climate Events Set the Tone for Accelerated Green Solutions

Dan Ioschpe, Climate High-Level Champion for COP 30, at the opening conference of Rio Climate Action Week. Photo: Isadora Brasil.

The Africa gatherings come on the heels of climate events in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, which took place in August. With less than three months until COP 30, both of these climate action weeks showed how local leadership — from companies, investors, governments, communities, and academia — can speed up the green transition.

In São Paulo, discussions zeroed in on how Brazil, and the broader region of Latin America, can lead the transition to a low-carbon economy. The private sector took centre stage, with investors, government officials and businesses presenting pathways for ambitious business models across the green economy.

In preparation for Belém, the Sustainable Business COP 30 (SB COP), led by the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry, presented success stories on the energy transition, climate financing, decarbonisation, and bioeconomy. Their goal is to disseminate best practices and success cases among more than 40 million companies from 60 participating countries of SB COP.

“Our ambition is to scale actions that are already working to advance climate action and economic development together”, said Dan Ioschpe, Climate High-Level Champion of the COP 30 Presidency.

Rio: From legacy to delivery

More than thirty years after the Rio Earth Summit and more than a decade since Rio+20, participants at Rio Climate Action Week reflected on past milestones and pressed for practical climate solutions Brazil can showcase as COP 30 host.

The event was part of a growing network of city-led Climate Action Weeks, inspired by London’s model, and now stretching from Rio to Baku and Bangkok. Organizers said the trend shows how cities are becoming key players in mobilising communities, shaping policy and accelerating green industrialisation.

Rio Climate Action Week emphasised the importance of multilateralism alongside Brazil’s unique “mutirão” spirit, which evokes everyone rolling up their sleeves and working collectively to advance climate action.

“Many events during these weeks focused on implementing concrete solutions, which is a clear signal that the Action Agenda is resonating with local actors”, said Ioschpe.

The Climate Champion continued, “As we approach COP 30, leaders from businesses, governments, investors, philanthropies, and academia are paving the way to a sustainable future.”

Latin America’s Impact Makers

The Impact Makers campaign, launched by the COP 29 Climate High-Level Champion, Nigar Arpadarai, is amplifying the voices of people driving bold climate solutions worldwide. During Brazil’s climate action weeks, the spotlight turned to Latin American leaders advancing change on the ground. These innovators are making critical contributions to climate action often against the odds.

In Brazil, Indigenous leader Ederval Antonio is safeguarding the ecosystem that his community depends on. In Mexico, Nora Velasco has co-founded a youth-led organization committed to advancing climate justice. And in Colombia, Pablo Ramelli, is extending the life of lithium-ion batteries — proof that young people can lead innovation in sustainability.

Learn more.

COP 30 Thematic Days

Photo: UN Climate Change. Credit: Lara Murillo.

From Addis to Rio, the momentum is building to COP 30 in November. Earlier this month the COP 30 Presidency released the official calendar of Thematic Days, outlining a sweeping agenda aimed at turning negotiations into action. Running from November 10 to 21 in Belém, Brazil, the programme is designed to bridge high-level policy with real-world solutions, covering more than 30 interconnected topics from forests to finance, energy to adaptation. Read more.

COP 30 Presidency Letters: People First, Focus on Belém

The COP 30 incoming Presidency released its fifth public letter on 12 August, calling for climate action that “begins and ends with people.” The letter emphasises the leadership and knowledge of communities on the frontlines of climate change, especially those that have been historically marginalised. “We invite the international community to remember that climate action is not merely a scientific or technical challenge - it is a profoundly human one,” writes COP 30 President Designate Amb. André Corrêa do Lago. Read the full fifth letter.

A week later, on 19 August, the release of the sixth letter turned attention to preparations for COP30 itself. Reflecting on the June Climate Meetings – formally the 62nd Subsidiary Body Sessions of the UNFCCC held in Bonn, Germany– the letter outlines the COP Presidency’s next intended steps on the road to Belém.

Amb. André Corrêa do Lago emphasised that these steps will be guided by three interconnected priorities:

reinforcing multilateralism and the climate change regime under the UNFCCC.
connecting the climate regime to people’s real lives
accelerating the implementation of the Paris Agreement by stimulating action and structural adjustments across all institutions that can contribute to it.

Read the full sixth letter.

Webinar: ‘COP 30: Join the Climate Action Agenda Journey to Belem’

The COP 30 incoming Presidency, Climate High-Level Champions, and UNFCCC will host a webinar this Friday, 29 August at 8:00 AM Brasilia Time (1:00 PM GMT+1 / 3:00 PM AZT) to present the refined Climate Action Agenda - focused on turning climate agreements into real-world solutions centered on people.

Opened by COP 30 President Designate Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, the session will feature leaders including Ana Toni, COP 30 CEO; Dan Ioschpe, COP 30 Climate High-Level Champion; Nigar Arpadarai, COP 29 Climate High-Level Champion; and Daniele Violetti, Senior Director, Programmes Coordination, UNFCCC secretariat.

The webinar will outline the Action Agenda’s six thematic axes and 30 key objectives. It will also highlight opportunities for governments, businesses, investors, and civil society to engage in accelerating climate action.

To register for this webinar please complete the Zoom registration.