Africa will shape Europe’s Future: Why the EU must step up climate and development funding

Supporting climate change in Africa is of strategic importance for Europe. Photo: C. Kropke, Brot für die Welt

Europe faces one of the most important political decisions of this decade. As the climate crisis strikes ever harder, geopolitical power dynamics shift and international alliances are realigning, the next long-term EU budget for 2028 to 2034 will be far more than a technical budgetary instrument. It will determine whether Europe can shape the global agenda or will increasingly lose influence. Yet instead of making full use of this potential, the European Council – driven largely by member states such as Germany – is currently discussing substantial cuts to the EU budget. Particularly affected is the ‘Global Europe Instrument’, the central funding instrument for EU foreign policy, which includes climate and development finance.

Africa plays a key role for Europe’s future

Especially now, in an increasingly multipolar world, climate and development finance is no longer merely a tool for humanitarian aid. It has become a strategic key to Europe’s security, economic stability and geopolitical capacity to act. Africa plays a central role in this. The continent not only has the youngest and most dynamic population in the world, but also enormous natural resources, huge potential for renewable energy and crucial markets for the green and digital transition. Europe’s prosperity and climate targets are inextricably linked to how successfully this partnership is being shaped.

Yet this is precisely where the problem lies: despite Africa’s growing strategic importance, the EU has scaled back its engagement in recent years. The share of European development aid allocated to Africa has fallen to its lowest level in decades. This is not only short-sighted in terms of development policy, but also geopolitically risky. For while Europe hesitates, other actors such as China, Russia or the Gulf states are systematically expanding their influence on the continent – through infrastructure projects, investments and political cooperation. Those who leave funding gaps today will create geopolitical dependencies tomorrow.

Strengthening Europe’s geopolitical role through climate and development finance

For Europe, and for Germany as Europe’s largest economy, the stakes are therefore high. Investments in climate resilience, sustainable agriculture, education, infrastructure and economic development in Africa are not a one-way street. They create stability by tackling the root causes of conflict, hunger and displacement. They strengthen European economies through new markets and more stable supply chains. And they secure Europe’s access to strategic minerals and green value chains that are indispensable for the energy transition.

In other words: climate and development finance generates a double dividend. It helps Africa become more resilient and prosperous, whilst simultaneously protecting Europe’s long-term interests. At a time when the impacts of climate change and geopolitical uncertainty are becoming increasingly intertwined, this type of investment is becoming one of the wisest forward-looking strategies Europe can pursue.

The forthcoming EU budget offers a key opportunity to finally take this reality into account in a politically consistent manner. Instead of making cuts, higher, binding and long-term funds for Africa should be earmarked. Only in this way can Europe’s credibility as a global partner be strengthened while ensuring the implementation of international climate and development goals. It is crucial that this funding is not subordinated to short-term fiscal or political priorities, but remains specifically geared towards long-term stability, poverty reduction and sustainable transformation.

What Germany needs to do now

Germany bears a particular responsibility in this process. As an influential Member State within the EU, the German government can play a decisive role in determining whether the European budget truly reflects Africa’s strategic importance. Germany’s established role as a reliable partner in climate and development policy makes the country a key lever for an ambitious European approach. This is precisely why Germany should reconsider its stance and more clearly recognise the strategic relevance of climate and development financing – not as a cost factor, but as an investment in Europe’s future viability.

Ultimately, this is about far more than traditional development cooperation. It is about Europe’s – and thus also Germany’s – place in a multipolar world. Those who invest in Africa’s future today are investing in global stability, effective climate protection, economic opportunities and Europe’s long-term capacity for political action. The real question is therefore not whether Europe can afford ambitious climate and development financing. The crucial question is whether it can afford to do without it.

Kerstin Opfer, Germanwatch

More information can be found in the study „Global Europe, Global Responsibility – Delivering Development and Climate Impact in Africa“.