As the climate crisis deepens, billions of pounds are flowing through global climate finance mechanisms like the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund, bilateral aid, and carbon markets. Yet for many communities in the Global South, especially across Africa, these funds remain distant, opaque, and misaligned with local realities. The question is no longer just how much money is available, but whose priorities shape its allocation. Decolonising climate finance means shifting power, not just resources.
The Colonial Echoes in Climate Finance
Climate finance is often framed as a moral obligation: wealthy nations compensating for historical emissions. But in practice, it is riddled with structural inequities:
Top-down project design: Many climate interventions are conceived in donor capitals, with limited input from affected communities. Despite Africa’s urgent needs, adaptation finance remains insufficient. In 2021–2022, Africa received only USD 13 billion in adaptation finance, a modest 14% increase compared to 2019–2020, while the continent’s annual adaptation needs are estimated at USD 53 billion.
Technocratic gatekeeping: Accessing funds requires navigating complex proposals, metrics, and jargon, barriers that exclude grassroots actors. More than 70% of the total adaptation needs reported in African Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are not allocated to any sector, leaving critical local priorities underfunded (GCA, 2024).
Conditionality and control: Financing often comes with strings attached, reinforcing dependency rather than sovereignty. Over half (54%) of adaptation finance in Africa is concentrated in only 10 countries, while the bottom 10 countries receive only 1%, highlighting structural inequities in allocation
This mirrors colonial patterns: extractive economies, external decision-making, and the marginalisation of Indigenous and local knowledge.
Whose Climate Priorities?
Across Africa, communities are innovating climate solutions rooted in lived experience:
- In Uganda, youth-led cooperatives are restoring wetlands and building solar-powered irrigation systems.
- In Kenya, pastoralist women are developing drought-resilient fodder banks and early warning networks.
- In Rwanda, Indigenous Batwa communities are reviving forest stewardship traditions to protect biodiversity.
Yet these initiatives rarely receive direct funding. Instead, climate finance predominantly flows to large NGOs, consultancies, or government agencies, often disconnected from the ground. With billions pledged globally, only a fraction reaches these local solutions, reflecting a persistent misalignment between funding and the realities of those on the frontlines.
The Myth of “Bankable” Projects
One of the most insidious barriers is the obsession with “bankability.” Projects must be scalable, measurable, and profitable to attract funding. But what about:
- Healing intergenerational trauma through land reclamation?
- Building community radio stations for climate education?
- Supporting seed-saving networks that preserve biodiversity?
These may not fit neatly into spreadsheets, yet they are vital to resilience. Decolonising climate finance means valuing relational, cultural, and ecological outcomes, not just economic returns. With adaptation finance focused disproportionately on “bankable” infrastructure, transformative community-led projects often remain invisible.
Pathways to Decolonisation
To truly decolonise climate finance, we must:
- Shift decision-making power to frontline communities, especially women, youth, and Indigenous peoples, who are already demonstrating effective climate solutions.
- Simplify access through flexible, trust-based funding models that prioritise local knowledge.
- Invest in capacity not just to write proposals, but to shape agendas and hold donors accountable.
- Reframe success beyond carbon metrics to include justice, healing, and sovereignty.
This is not charity; it is reparative justice. It is about recognising that those most affected by climate change are also its most effective problem-solvers. As Africa continues to face a climate finance gap that leaves more than 70% of NDC adaptation needs unmet, the imperative to decolonise funding is not only moral, but also practical.
References
- Frontiers in Sociology – “Decolonizing Climate Change Response: African Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Development”
This peer-reviewed article explores how scientism and Western epistemologies marginalise African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AIKs) in climate discourse. It advocates for integrating AIKs into climate response strategies using Ubuntu philosophy and transformative learning frameworks.
Read the full article - Stockholm Environment Institute – “Decolonial Climate Finance in Practice: Assessing Proposed Reforms”
This working paper critiques existing climate finance mechanisms and highlights how they reinforce Global North control. It calls for embedding Indigenous Peoples and marginalised communities in decision-making processes around climate finance.
Download the report - Sustainability Directory – “Decolonizing Climate Finance Mechanisms for Indigenous Communities”
This scenario-based analysis outlines how current climate finance structures bypass Indigenous governance and dilute local priorities. It emphasises the need for direct access modalities and Indigenous sovereignty in climate action.
Explore the scenario
Author: Allen Kemigisa
Research & Communications Intern
