New CATF analysis finds substantial misalignment between climate and development plans across Africa, undermining integrated progress on both fronts 

As the world marks 10 years since the Paris Agreement and meets at COP30 in Belém, new analysis calls for urgent alignment of Africa’s climate and development strategies. 

New research from Clean Air Task Force (CATF) reveals a substantial misalignment between African countries’ climate commitments and their national development priorities, posing a challenge to achieving both emissions reductions and poverty alleviation across the continent. The paper, Policy Silos: The Disconnect Between Climate and Development Agendas in African Countries, analyzes 52 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and 98 National Development Plans (NDPs) across 52 African countries from 2000 to 2023.  

Read the executive summary and full report here. Read a policy brief on this analysis here. 

“The findings from our analysis are troubling,” said Lily Odarno, Regional Director for Africa at CATF. “While both frameworks are essential to advancing national objectives, they are often developed in silos, with limited coordination across institutions, ministries, and funding streams. As we mark the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement at COP30 in Bélem, this analysis highlights a blind spot in how climate and development agendas are formed. Climate and development goals should be mutually reinforcing, but instead they largely run on parallel tracks—one driven by international climate priorities, the other by domestic growth imperatives. This disconnect is limiting Africa’s ability to achieve meaningful progress on either front.” 

The report finds that while African NDCs focus heavily on climate-related sectors such as energy and agriculture, they often give limited attention to socio-economic dimensions like poverty reduction, employment, and governance. Conversely, NDPs prioritize economic growth and social transformation, but rarely address climate goals.  

“This divide reflects how climate and development priorities are often set and financed through separate institutional channels,” said Prudence Dato, Lead Energy Economist at CATF. “When environment ministries drive climate policy and economic ministries lead development planning with limited coordination, the result is fragmented strategies that fail to capture synergies or manage trade-offs effectively. African countries should not be forced to choose between growth and decarbonization. The two must go hand in hand.” 

Additional findings from the report include:  

• External actors heavily influence NDCs. Over half (58%) of African NDCs cite funding from international institutions such as the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program, or the African Development Bank, compared to only 23% of NDPs. However, transparency remains limited with 72% of NDPs not disclosing funding sources. 

• Regional integration remains limited in both development and climate plans. Only 17% of NDCs reference regional frameworks such as the African Union’s Agenda 2063, compared with 63% of NDPs. Subregional economic communities are only sporadically mentioned, signaling missed opportunities for alignment with continental development goals. 

• Socioeconomic dimensions are often overlooked in climate plans. Few NDCs reference jobs (19%), economic impacts (13%), or GDP effects (4%), while most NDPs highlight job creation (66%) and economic transformation (89%). This reflects a persistent disconnect between climate ambition and development realities. 

The report urges African countries to take immediate steps to bridge the climate-development divide by establishing permanent inter-ministerial committees to align priorities, integrating climate planning into national development strategies, and ensuring emissions reductions are considered alongside economic and social objectives. It also calls for mobilizing diverse financial resources—from domestic capital markets to international funding—to support both development and climate goals, investing in human capital and institutional capacity for integrated policy analysis and monitoring, and strengthening regional collaboration to share expertise, streamline planning, and access co-financing opportunities. 

Ten years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the world remains off track to meet its temperature goals, and developing regions continue to grapple with the economic and social impacts of climate change. With COP30 commencing, the report emphasizes the need for both developed and developing countries to recognize that effective climate action cannot be achieved in isolation from development imperatives. 

To learn more about CATF’s presence at COP30, visit www.catf.us/cop30/