Can we stave off catastrophic climate change while building the energy systems needed to power growth, create jobs and lift millions of people out of poverty? That’s a crucial question for Africa. No region has done less to contribute to the climate crisis, but no region will pay a higher price for failure to tackle it. Meanwhile, over half of Africa’s population lacks access to modern energy.

Africa’s leaders have no choice but to bridge the energy gap, urgently.

They do have a choice, though, about how to bridge the gap. Africa can leapfrog over the damaging energy practices that have brought the world to the brink of catastrophe – and show the world the way to a low-carbon future.

To achieve that vision, however, national and global financing arrangements must be reformed and boosted. The Third International Conference on Financing for Development, in Addis Ababa this week, offered a rare opportunity for global leaders to join forces and commit to the necessary changes. The new Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the comprehensive agreement reached at the end of the Conference, now provides a foundation for innovative, scaled up financing of the global sustainable development agenda, including the energy sector.