COP29 president calls for affordable finance to unlock Africa’s renewable energy

COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev has warned that high costs and limited access to finance remain major obstacles for many countries seeking to develop renewable energy.

Speaking at the COP30-IEA High-Level Energy Transition Dialogue, Babayev said the outcomes of COP29 could play an important role in mobilising investment to harness Africa’s abundant clean energy resources, Caliber.Az reports per the COP29 Azerbaijan on X.

The COP29 President gave remarks to the COP30-IEA High-Level Energy Transition Dialogue on the challenges many countries face in unlocking their renewable energy potential because finance remains too expensive or inaccessible. He highlighted the important role that COP29’s… pic.twitter.com/IbPvkx27V4

— COP29 Azerbaijan (@COP29_AZ) September 8, 2025

He underlined that progress on renewable energy requires more affordable and accessible funding mechanisms, particularly for developing regions. Unlocking these resources, he added, is essential to achieving global climate goals while ensuring economic growth and energy security for countries in Africa and beyond.

The event formed part of a series of High-Level Energy Transition Dialogues being organised by the COP30 Presidency and the International Energy Agency (IEA), in partnership with the UNFCCC Secretariat and the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Team. The dialogues aim to shape the energy agenda ahead of COP30, which will take place in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025.

Following the first meeting in Brussels in June, this second dialogue was hosted in Addis Ababa by the African Union Commission together with COP30 President-Designate Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago and IEA Deputy Executive Director Mary Burce Warlick. It focused on how COP30 can accelerate progress towards African countries’ energy goals and support the implementation of recent global energy commitments.

By Sabina Mammadli