The US government has announced a USD 150 million grant to assist African countries in adapting to the effects of climate change. The announcement was made by the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, and the President of COP 27, Sameh Shoukry, on Saturday, November 12, 2022, at the ongoing COP27 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt.

The funding will primarily support adaptation interventions in Africa, potentially saving the lives of millions of people, particularly in poor countries most affected by climate change. Both leaders stated that another USD 15 billion would be invested in food, water, and energy initiatives.

"Access to climate action funding is the primary challenge for African countries," said John Kerry.

The COP27 Sharm-El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda was launched a few days ago to recognize the need to support more climate adaptation actions while also increasing resilience to climate change.

"By 2030, this agenda will address the adaptation gap and increase the resilience of 4 billion people by accelerating transformation across five impact systems: food and agriculture, water and nature, coastal and oceans, human settlements, and infrastructure," said Minister Sameh Shoukry.

Egypt, as an African country, is aware of the continent's adaptation challenges, according to the COP president. As a result, establishing strong collaboration with the US to develop a diverse package of support for Africa in the field of adaptation and resilience can provide some relief.

Climate finance is still a top priority for poor and developing countries at COP27. Most developing countries, including Africa, contribute the least to greenhouse gas emissions while suffering the most. As a result, many have demanded additional funding to address the consequences they are experiencing.

At COP27 in Glasgow, world leaders committed to reducing global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius, doubling adaptation finance, reducing methane emissions, halting forest loss, accelerating the phase-out of coal, and ending international financing for fossil fuels, among other things.

All of this was done to find concrete solutions to the global climate emergency, such as mitigation, adaptation, resilience, loss, and damage.

Climate finance is simply money paid to developing countries by wealthy countries responsible for the majority of historical emissions to help them pay for emission reduction measures and adaptation.

US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry stated that "unprecedented" investment in clean energy is required to limit warming to 1.5°C and avoid catastrophic climate impacts on communities around the world.

"Annual clean energy investment must triple to $4.2 trillion by 2030, with emerging and developing economies requiring more than half of that investment."

According to activists at the COP27, the cost of inaction on climate change is high, and livelihoods are at stake. As a result, they expect leaders to back up their words with actions by keeping their promises.

According to an International Monetary Fund report, the poorest countries face the greatest risks from climate change and require international assistance to finance adaptation.