ECOWAS has formally asked Germany and Switzerland for technical and financial support for a new regional project on climate-induced human mobility, and help mobilising needed funding.
The request was made during a bilateral meeting held on the margins of a series of African Union sessions in Addis Ababa, according to a report from the Economic Community of West African States.
The Permanent Representation of ECOWAS to the African Union took part in the meetings, which ran from 12 to 15 October 2026 at the continental body’s headquarters in Ethiopia and covered climate and human mobility.
The bilateral discussions involved partners from German cooperation, identified as BMZ and GIZ, and Swiss cooperation, identified as SDC.
The ECOWAS representation used the meeting to commend what it described as the partners’ continuous support in implementing the ECOWAS Climate Strategy adopted in 2022, which it called the benchmark for regional public policies.
The German and Swiss partners welcomed what the report described as the ongoing momentum and reaffirmed their readiness to support the joint initiatives. They also encouraged the involvement of African financial institutions in mobilising resources.
Loss and damage workshop opens the programme
The sessions began with a Capacity Building Workshop on Loss and Damage and Access to Climate Finance, which brought together experts from the African Union Commission and the Regional Economic Communities.
The workshop reviewed the types of funding available and their eligibility criteria, with particular emphasis on operationalising three international instruments: the Warsaw International Mechanism, the Santiago Network and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage.
Those three mechanisms form part of the international architecture for addressing climate-related loss and damage, a term used in climate negotiations for impacts that cannot be avoided through adaptation or mitigated by reducing emissions.
Migration strategy draft adopted in English
A Final Consultation and Validation Meeting on the Draft AU Continental Strategy on Migration and Climate Change followed the workshop. The meeting led to the adoption of the final draft in its English version.
The French version was subject to technical reservations, which the report said will require subsequent consultations to fully harmonise the continental document.
The ECOWAS Climate Strategy adopted in 2022 predates the Addis Ababa meetings and remains the regional bloc’s reference framework for climate policy, according to the representation.
Comments