International News Desk
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is being urged by a coalition of 12 civil society organizations, including Strategic Youth Network for Development, Accountability Counsel, Power Shift Africa, Recourse, Urgewald, Climate Clock, Alternative Law Collective, Indus Consortium, and Humanitarian Environment and Development Initiatives, to revise its climate policies to align with international law and address the climate crisis.
The organizations cite a November 7, 2025, legal opinion from scholars Dr. Johanna Aleria, P. Lorenzo, and Dr. Jolene Lin, emphasizing that AfDB’s member states and the bank itself must meet their climate change obligations under international law.
The organizations are calling for AfDB to assess its climate change obligations, propose adjustments to its policies, and immediately halt support for fossil fuel projects. They argue that AfDB’s climate policies must prioritize climate change due diligence and align with the “best available science” standard to effectively address the climate crisis.
The AfDB has made progress in climate action, investing $23 billion in climate finance since 2011 and committing to align all investments with the Paris Agreement by 2025. However, critics argue that more needs to be done to address the climate crisis, particularly in Africa, which is disproportionately affected by climate change.
The organizations’ demands highlight the growing scrutiny on multilateral development banks like AfDB to ensure their policies and practices align with global climate goals and international law. As the climate crisis deepens, AfDB’s response to these demands will be closely watched by stakeholders and could have significant implications for climate action in Africa.
The AfDB has been working to increase its climate financing, aiming to quadruple it to $25 billion by 2025, with 63% of its climate finance allocated to adaptation. However, the bank’s efforts have been criticized for being insufficient, and the CSOs are pushing for more ambitious action to address the climate crisis.
The outcome of this push for policy overhaul remains to be seen, but it highlights the increasing pressure on AfDB to prioritize climate action and align its policies with international law.
Source: www.climatewatchonline.com
