Delegates enjoy coffee at Ethiopia’s stand in the Africa Pavilion at COP31 on November 10, 2026. Ethiopia will host the next UN climate conference, COP32. Photo: Seth Onyango, bird story agency.
Africa has brought its colours, coffee and critical minerals to COP31. The last of those could be worth considerably more than all the diplomatic goodwill on offer in Antalya.
By Seth Onyango, bird story agency
10 November 2026
Africans are hard to miss at COP31. From the colourful prints and flowing robes sweeping through the conference halls to the aroma of freshly brewed Ethiopian coffee, the continent has brought plenty of its character to the Turkish Mediterranean coast.
Across the sprawling venue hosting this year’s UN climate summit, Africa is making itself seen and heard.
There is a dazzling array of fashion, from traditional attire to contemporary designs, and a steady procession of ministers, campaigners, entrepreneurs and negotiators moving between national pavilions and meeting rooms.
Ethiopia has even shipped in traditional stools, utensils and its finest coffee beans, giving visitors a taste of what awaits them when the climate summit moves to Addis Ababa next year.
And then there are the minerals.
Cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo, manganese from South Africa and Gabon, lithium from Zimbabwe and graphite from Mozambique and Tanzania are featuring in conversations about Africa’s place in the global energy transition.
Several African delegates and experts speaking to bird story agency in Antalya see these resources as a source of leverage in discussions over investment, technology and the industries that will supply the world’s growing demand for clean energy.
The Democratic Republic of Congo supplies much of the world’s cobalt, a mineral used in rechargeable batteries, while African producers also hold substantial deposits of lithium, graphite and manganese. These resources are important to manufacturers of electric vehicles, batteries and electricity storage systems.
African governments are seeking investment in processing facilities, factories and electricity infrastructure that would allow producing countries to retain more of the value generated by these resources.
The Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia have pursued cooperation on battery materials and electric vehicle supply chains, while Zimbabwe has introduced measures intended to encourage more domestic processing of lithium.
Such plans depend on reliable electricity, transport infrastructure, technical expertise and access to finance. They are also bringing trade and industrial development into discussions that have traditionally focused heavily on emissions reductions and climate finance.
Those financing demands were among the first issues to cause disagreement when negotiations opened in Antalya.
African countries sought dedicated discussions on tripling adaptation finance, the future financing needs of the Green Climate Fund and the effects of climate-related trade measures on developing economies.
A proposal for a separate agenda item on adaptation finance failed to secure consensus on Monday, leaving negotiators to pursue the issue through other parts of the conference.
Ethiopia brings Addis Ababa to Antalya
At Ethiopia’s pavilion, preparations for next year’s summit are already under way.
Traditional stools, decorative pieces and jebena coffee pots have been brought from home, creating a space where visitors can experience the country’s coffee ceremony while learning about its climate and development programmes.
Ethiopia is preparing to host COP32 in Addis Ababa in 2027, returning the annual negotiations to Africa for the first time since COP27 in Egypt.
The pavilion opened on Monday with Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos, the incoming COP32 president, and Finance Minister Fitsum Assefa, who will serve as chief negotiator for next year’s conference.
Timothewos has already begun setting out Ethiopia’s approach to the presidency.
Addressing the COP31 plenary, he called for stronger international climate cooperation, faster implementation of existing commitments and action to address financing gaps.
Ethiopia has pledged to oversee a fair, transparent and inclusive process when it assumes the presidency.
The country is also using its presence in Antalya to promote renewable energy, climate-resilient agriculture and its Green Legacy tree-planting programme.
Its substantial hydropower resources form part of plans to expand electricity generation and attract investment into manufacturing and other industries.
The coffee ceremony has become a distinctive feature of the pavilion, offering visitors a chance to experience one of the country’s best-known traditions.
For Ethiopia, preparations for COP32 are taking place alongside discussions about the investment and international partnerships it hopes to attract.
Investment moves up the African agenda
The wider African presence at COP31 includes development banks, trade institutions and businesses seeking investment in energy, infrastructure and manufacturing.
At the Africa Pavilion, the African Development Bank, African Union Commission, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) have gathered under the theme Turning Climate Commitments into Investments.
Their programme covers renewable energy, critical minerals, carbon markets, climate finance and industrial development.
Afreximbank’s participation brings trade finance and regional supply chains into the discussions, particularly as African countries seek to expand manufacturing under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Mineral processing, battery manufacturing and other energy-intensive industries require large, reliable electricity supplies.
The COP31 presidency has placed electrification among its major initiatives, proposing to increase electricity’s share of global final energy consumption from about 23 per cent to 35 per cent by 2035.
The proposal comes as African governments seek to expand electricity access for roughly 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa who remain without power.
The World Bank and African Development Bank are already working through Mission 300, which aims to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.
On Tuesday, the COP31 presidency announced a new international electrification finance coalition, with the two banks set to serve as its inaugural co-chairs in 2027.
The initiative is intended to bring together governments, development banks and private financial institutions to mobilise investment in electricity infrastructure across emerging and developing economies.
COP31 President of Negotiations Chris Bowen has acknowledged the importance of investment in delivering the proposed electrification target.
“Ambition matters, but it must be backed by investment, infrastructure and implementation,” Bowen said.
For African countries, borrowing costs, currency risks and the financial condition of national utilities remain major obstacles to expanding electricity generation and transmission networks.
These constraints also affect the industrial projects that governments hope will attract investment around the continent’s mineral resources.
The first dispute is over finance
Inside the negotiating rooms, the African Group of Negotiators has been pressing for progress on adaptation finance, the just transition and the resources needed to implement national climate commitments.
The group’s chair, Nana Dr Antwi-Boasiako Amoah of Ghana, has identified finance as one of Africa’s principal priorities at COP31.
At COP30 in Belém, countries agreed to at least triple adaptation finance for developing economies by 2035.
African governments want clarity on how that commitment will be implemented, including the amount of finance to be provided, the sources of funding and the arrangements for monitoring delivery.
Their request for a dedicated adaptation finance agenda item failed to gain consensus during the opening discussions in Antalya.
Amoah expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome and indicated that African negotiators would continue pursuing the issue through other negotiating channels.
The Green Climate Fund is another area of concern, with African countries seeking greater certainty over the resources available to support adaptation and the implementation of national climate plans.
Many African governments are already dealing with high debt repayments while trying to finance infrastructure, agriculture, electricity and public services.
The terms on which international climate finance is provided can therefore affect how much governments can invest in protecting communities from floods, droughts and other climate impacts.
African negotiators are also seeking discussions on climate-related trade measures.
As major economies introduce rules linked to the carbon emissions associated with imported products, African manufacturers face new requirements that could affect their access to international markets.
These developments are particularly relevant to countries seeking to expand mineral processing and other industrial activities that depend on affordable electricity.
Heat puts health products to the test
Elsewhere at the summit, South African medical doctor and climate-health advocate Dr Nompumelelo Nkosi-Ntombela was following discussions about the effects of rising temperatures on essential medicines.
Nkosi-Ntombela, who serves on the KwaZulu-Natal Climate Change and Sustainable Development Council, attended a high-level panel on climate-sensitive health technologies during the summit’s opening Health Day.
The discussions included a project examining how extreme heat and humidity affect medicines and diagnostic products used in countries already experiencing high temperatures.
Unitaid has announced a US$10.9 million programme, known as SHIELD, to investigate the heat stability of essential health products, including medicines used to treat HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.
The project will study storage and transport conditions in Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and India, with findings validated in South Africa and Brazil. The research is scheduled to run from 2027 to 2030.
For Nkosi-Ntombela, the initiative addresses a concern for health systems where high temperatures, unreliable electricity and long transport routes can complicate the safe storage and distribution of medicines.
“Climate change is a health conversation too,” she said, reflecting on her first day at COP31.
She also called for greater involvement of women and young people in climate and health programmes, particularly in communities where access to essential services is limited.
The SHIELD project will examine how heat and humidity affect the quality of health products and identify ways to protect them during storage and transport.
Its findings could inform improvements in packaging, temperature monitoring and medical supply chains.
Campaigners press for grants
Financing has also been a central concern for African civil society organisations attending the summit.
Greenpeace Africa is among the groups calling for more grant-based climate finance, greater investment in renewable energy and stronger accountability for major polluters.
Ferdinand Omondi, a strategic communications and policy specialist associated with Greenpeace Africa, has raised concerns about the technical language surrounding international climate finance and the difficulty communities face in understanding what the agreements mean for them.
He has pointed to the difference between a Kenyan farmer receiving a commercial loan to recover from drought and receiving public grant financing as an example of how international decisions can affect people already experiencing climate impacts.
Greenpeace Africa is advocating grants rather than additional debt, alongside faster renewable energy deployment and measures to hold major polluters financially accountable.
Similar demands have been made by a coalition of civil society organisations pressing the COP31 presidency to strengthen its proposed electrification framework.
In an open letter updated ahead of the summit, more than 120 organisations called for significantly increased public climate finance, with grants and concessional funding directed towards developing economies.
The signatories also want financing to reach smaller enterprises, community energy providers and local organisations, alongside measures to improve affordability and electricity access.
Their proposals include stronger protections for communities affected by mineral extraction and greater investment in local manufacturing and technology transfer.
The demands intersect with several issues being discussed by African governments, from electricity access and industrial development to climate adaptation and the management of natural resources.
From Antalya to Addis Ababa
COP31 continues until November 20, with African negotiators seeking progress on adaptation finance, the just transition and the financing arrangements needed to implement national climate commitments.
The opening dispute over adaptation finance has left one of the continent’s priorities to be addressed through other parts of the negotiations.
Meanwhile, African governments and development institutions are pursuing investment in renewable electricity, manufacturing, mineral processing and regional trade.
The continent’s mineral resources have become an important part of discussions about the industries that will supply the global energy transition. Developing those industries will require electricity, infrastructure, financing and commercial partnerships, with African governments seeking arrangements that allow more processing and manufacturing to take place locally.
Ethiopia will host the next round of negotiations in Addis Ababa, where many of these issues are likely to remain on the agenda. Its officials have already begun preparations in Antalya, meeting international partners and promoting the country’s climate and development programmes.
For now, African delegates face days of meetings, investment discussions and negotiations.
At the Ethiopian pavilion, visitors are still being welcomed with freshly prepared coffee.
bird story agency
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