CHAMP Country Case Studies: West Africa

West Africa confronts a mounting climate crisis as extreme weather intensifies across the region’s diverse economies. The 2022 floods in Nigeria stand as a stark example, marking the largest disaster displacement Sub-Saharan Africa in the last decade. Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s top cocoa producer, faces critically low production from disruptive weather conditions, while Ghana expects drought damages will triple to over US $325 million annually by mid-century. Coastal vulnerability links all three nations, with much of their population settled in zones threatened by rising seas and intensifying storms.

Fiscal pressures compound physical risks. Implementing Africa’s NDCs will cost approximately US$2.8 trillion between 2020-2030, yet the continent received less than 3% of total global climate finance dedicated to developing countries in 2021/2022. Only 36% of this finance went to adaptation despite less than 4% of global emissions coming from the region. In West Africa climate finance during 2013-2019 totaled US$11.7 billion, covering just 13% of countries’ stated NDC needs. Despite these constraints, the region shows clear leadership on the development and implementation of financing strategies, such as Nigeria’s use of Sukuk bonds and Ghana’s climate budget tagging. Renewable energy expansion also offers dual benefits of emissions reductions and expanded electricity access, though fossil fuel dependencies and constrained government budgets persist.

Closing the finance gap will require continued financial and fiscal innovation that aligns with the needs of rapidly urbanizing communities. African cities are growing faster than those in any other region, creating opportunities to achieve sustainable development along with infrastructural resilience. Moving beyond isolated projects to institutionalized, multi-level governance models is essential. Through initiatives like ICLEI Africa, Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP), local governments are advancing climate action and elevating urban climate leadership on the global stage.