UN Climate Week Kicks Off in Addis Ababa to Boost Solutions and Speed Up Real-World Climate Actions

UN Climate Week Kicks Off in Addis Ababa to Boost Solutions and Speed Up Real-World Climate Actions

Outcomes to feed into Africa Climate Summit and COP30 UN Climate Conference in the Amazon this November

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 1 September 2025 -/African Media Agency (AMA)/UN News-Today marks the start of Climate Week – a milestone United Nations event to boost real-world climate solutions, and advance crucial climate issues, ahead the COP30 global climate conference in Brazil, this November.

Climate Week will bring together governments, financiers including development banks, businesses, civil society, and Indigenous Peoples, to help speed up delivery of pledges and climate actions on the ground, in African countries and around the world.

Organized by UN Climate Change and hosted by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Climate Week will feed into the second Africa Climate Summit next week – a major rallying point for African nations ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil.

“We are at a vital moment in the world’s climate journey. Climate Week in Addis Ababa is a chance to share and scale up real-world solutions, and help spread the real-life benefits of climate action to more people across Africa and around the world: more resilient economies, more jobs, better health and quality of life, more secure and affordable clean energy for all,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell.

“Climate Weeks aim to connect the international climate process to people’s daily lives and to real economies. At the heart of our programme is the Implementation Forum (3-4 Sept) — bringing together negotiators with implementers in governments, financiers, businesses, civil society, and Indigenous Peoples,” said UN Climate Change Deputy Executive Secretary Noura Hamladji.

With a strong focus on investment and collaboration, new Implementation Labs will focus on key challenges and opportunities, including in adaptation finance, strengthening public-private sector partnerships, scaling up agricultural, forest and food-related climate actions, and empowering communities, among many others.

A Stepping Stone for the Africa Climate Summit and COP30

The Climate Week is global in scope, but its solutions are deeply relevant to Agenda 2063 – Africa’s vision for inclusive growth, sustainability, and resilience. Climate Week in Addis Ababa has been deliberately timed to take place just ahead of the Africa Climate Summit 2 (ACS2), hosted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 8-10 September 2025.

The Summit marks a crucial moment for the continent’s climate leadership, where African leaders will advance work on climate finance, adaptation, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, green growth and community empowerment, ahead of COP30.  

Ethiopia’s Minister of Planning and Development, Fitsum Assefa, said: “This strategic alignment ensures that Africa’s climate priorities do not remain regional aspirations but are elevated into the global agenda. What we build in Addis Ababa through both the Africa Climate Summit 2 and Climate Week will strengthen implementation, unlock finance, and set the stage for COP30 and beyond. Together, these moments demonstrate that climate solutions must be locally rooted yet globally resonant if we are to build a sustainable future for all.”

“By strategically connecting Climate Week, the Climate Change and Development Conference in Africa, and the Second Africa Climate Summit, we establish a unified platform that turns dialogue into practical, scalable climate solutions and funding, fostering a resilient and green continent,” said Mosses Vilakati, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, African Union Commission.

The key outcomes of the Climate Week, including official statements linking to the Africa Climate Summit from UN Climate Change and the Government of Ethiopia, will be shared by news release in the afternoon of Thursday 4 Sept (Addis time) in English, Arabic and French, and posted on the UNFCCC website: www.unfccc.int

The Opening Ceremony & Start of the Implementation Forum (3 Sept, 09:30h EAT) will be livestreamed in EnglishFrench et Arabic with speakers to include:

1. H.E. Dr. Fitsum Assefa, Minister of Planning and Development of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

2. H.E. Taye Atske Selassie, President of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia  

3. Ms. Noura Hamladji, Deputy Executive Secretary UNFCCC

The Closing Ceremony (4 Sept, 16:00h EAT) will be livestreamed in EnglishFrenchArabic, with speakers to include:

1. H.E. Dr. Fitsum Assefa, Minister of Planning and Development of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

2. Mr. Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of UN Climate Change

More information and visuals

Learn more about Climate Week

Consult the full CW2 Agenda & event calendar (with webcast links when available)

Download visuals from the UN Climate Change Flickr Album

Download assets from the CW2 Trello board 

Follow the conversation online with #ClimateWeek2025

Follow UN Climate Change’s social media accounts:

Media enquiries: press@unfccc.int

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