East African Community (EAC) member states are calling for more predictable, accessible and grant-based climate finance ahead of COP31, arguing that adaptation and loss-and-damage support should not deepen the debt burdens of vulnerable economies. The regional position, validated in Kenya ahead of the November climate conference in Türkiye, also calls for adaptation finance to be tripled by 2035, greater direct access to international climate funds and stronger support for disaster risk reduction, placing climate finance increasingly within the region’s wider debate over fiscal space, development spending and economic resilience.
The position was adopted alongside validation of the EAC Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2026–2036 during a regional meeting in Machakos from September 29 to October 3. Delegates from EAC partner states, the EAC Secretariat, the Lake Victoria Basin Commission and technical experts participated in the process, with support from the German government through GIZ. The validated messages are expected to feed into the wider African negotiating position for COP31, giving the regional bloc a more coordinated platform on climate finance and adaptation.
At the centre of the EAC position is a concern that climate finance can become another source of sovereign pressure when vulnerable countries are required to borrow to respond to increasingly frequent climate shocks. The bloc is calling for developed countries to meet their public climate-finance obligations, improve direct access to resources and provide support for adaptation and loss and damage without increasing the debt burden of vulnerable states. It is also seeking full capitalisation of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage and direct access to its resources by national institutions.
That concern has a direct fiscal dimension. According to the World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Africa 2023 report, cited by the EAC, African economies lose between 2% and 5% of GDP annually to climate extremes, while some countries divert as much as 9% of national budgets to disaster response. Money that could otherwise support roads, water systems, health services, education or productive investment can therefore be redirected towards emergency recovery when floods, droughts and other climate shocks occur.
For East African governments, the distinction between grants and loans is particularly important because adaptation investments often generate broad economic and social benefits without producing a direct financial return capable of servicing commercial debt. Flood-control infrastructure, drought-resilient agriculture, early-warning systems, watershed protection and climate-resilient public facilities can reduce future losses, but they do not necessarily create predictable cash flows for governments to repay borrowed capital.
The EAC’s position therefore links climate finance to a broader question of how development is financed in countries already managing competing fiscal demands. African Development Bank data shows that climate finance flows to the continent currently meet only about 23% of the estimated annual funding required to implement national climate commitments through 2030. International sources account for about 82% of climate finance, while private finance remains a smaller component, highlighting the continuing dependence on external capital and the institutional constraints facing domestic climate-finance markets.
The financing gap is particularly significant for adaptation. African countries must invest in infrastructure and economic systems that can withstand climate-related disruption while also maintaining spending on energy, transport, water, agriculture and social services. Earlier African Development Bank estimates put Africa’s climate finance requirements for implementing national climate commitments at roughly $242.4 billion annually between 2020 and 2030, with adaptation accounting for about 44% of identified needs.
Yet the structure of finance matters as much as its volume. Climate finance delivered primarily through debt can increase repayment obligations at precisely the point when governments are facing higher expenditure following climate-related disasters. Foreign currency borrowing can add another layer of risk because exchange rate movements can increase the domestic cost of servicing external loans. African policy discussions on climate finance have increasingly highlighted this interaction between climate vulnerability, foreign currency exposure and sovereign debt sustainability.
The EAC is consequently also seeking changes in how climate funds are accessed. Its common position calls for transparent, predictable and efficient funding procedures and stronger support for national institutions to access climate resources directly. For governments, faster and more predictable access could reduce the time and transaction costs involved in developing projects and navigating international climate funds, although the ability to convert those resources into investment will still depend on domestic institutions, project preparation capacity and public financial management systems.
This is an important consideration for East Africa because climate finance increasingly needs to support infrastructure rather than isolated projects. Early warning systems, water storage, resilient roads, irrigation, urban drainage, energy systems and ecosystem restoration require planning across administrative boundaries and, in some cases, across national borders. The EAC’s regional framework is intended to provide a common basis for such action, while also linking climate resilience to low carbon development and ecosystem protection.
The bloc is also seeking stronger cooperation on disaster risk reduction and early warning systems, alongside full funding for the Santiago Network, which provides technical assistance to countries vulnerable to loss and damage. These priorities reflect a shift from treating climate-related disasters primarily as humanitarian emergencies towards investing in systems that can reduce their economic cost before they occur.
Carbon markets are another part of the regional agenda. The EAC is calling for equitable participation in markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, supported by harmonised regional standards for measuring, reporting and verifying emission reductions and safeguards for nature-based projects. For East African economies seeking new sources of climate finance, regional standards could help address concerns around the credibility and comparability of carbon projects, although market participation will also depend on national regulations, project quality and the distribution of revenues among governments, investors and local communities.
The strategy also identifies ecosystem restoration, including peatlands and rangelands, as a regional priority and calls for greater use of technology in early warning systems and stronger participation by women and young people in climate action. These areas connect climate policy with agriculture, land management, livelihoods and rural investment, where climate shocks can quickly translate into lower incomes, food-price pressures and demands on public budgets.
For businesses and financial institutions, the EAC position points to a broader investment environment in which climate risk is becoming increasingly relevant to infrastructure planning, agricultural finance, insurance and long-term capital allocation. A more resilient transport corridor, power system or agricultural value chain can reduce disruption and protect investment, while weak adaptation can increase operating and credit risks for both public and private borrowers.
The challenge, however, will be moving from a stronger negotiating position to bankable programmes and measurable spending. The EAC’s own earlier climate strategy work identified the need for credible regional projects capable of attracting climate finance. The validated 2026–2036 strategy is intended to strengthen that implementation framework, but its eventual development impact will depend on whether national institutions can translate regional priorities into projects with clear costs, safeguards, implementation arrangements and financing structures.
The EAC says its validated COP31 messages will be shared with the African Group of Negotiators and national UNFCCC focal points, positioning the regional bloc’s priorities within the wider African climate finance debate. The Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2026–2036 is also due to proceed to the EAC Sectoral Council on Environment and Natural Resources for consideration and adoption.
For East Africa, the central issue is therefore not simply whether more climate finance reaches the region, but whether it arrives on terms that allow governments to invest in resilience without sacrificing fiscal space. As climate-related losses increasingly compete with development spending, the distinction between grants, concessional finance and commercial borrowing becomes a question of economic policy. The EAC’s position ahead of COP31 puts that relationship between adaptation, development finance and debt sustainability firmly on the regional agenda.
