Togo: Lomé conference to explore climate finance as a tool for economic development
Monday, 08 June 2026 11:31 
(Togo First) - A traveling conference on green diplomacy, responsible investment and ESG criteria will make its second stop in Lomé on June 30, 2026, at Hôtel du 2 Février. The event is organized by NGO Moi Jeu Tri as part of its "Autour de l'Impact" initiative and aims to position climate challenges as an opportunity to strengthen economic sovereignty across African territories.
The format follows a first edition held in Dakar in November 2025, with subsequent stops planned for Abidjan and Paris. Four panels will structure the Lomé session: sustainable cities and climate resilience, circular economy and green industrialization, ESG finance and bankable project structuring, and human capital and prevention of territorial fragility.
An active domestic policy agenda
The conference connects with an already active policy agenda in Togo. Through Law No. 2025-006 on combating climate change, enacted on April 14, 2025, Togo established a legal framework for resilient, low-carbon development. Lomé is also the only French-speaking West African country to have produced a green budget document, published as an annex to the 2024 finance law, an exercise repeated for 2026.
The funding challenge is significant. According to the World Bank, Togo will need to mobilize around $14 billion by 2050 to fund climate adaptation efforts. In October 2024, the country adopted a Sustainable Financing Framework designed to attract investment aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, covering 14 categories of eligible expenditure, five of which are dedicated to climate action. The West African Development Bank (BOAD), headquartered in Lomé, is already helping channel climate finance into the country. In February 2025, the Green Climate Fund approved a $27 million grant project, equivalent to 17 billion CFA francs, to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable Togolese communities.
The private-sector challenge
Limited private-sector participation remains a major challenge. In April 2026, Togo's Ministry of Environment and the Togo Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI-Togo) held a dedicated session on climate financing mechanisms to remove the technical and financial barriers that continue to prevent Togolese businesses from fully participating in the green economy. The June 30 conference intends to extend that dialogue by bringing together international financial partners, local authorities and civil society.
For the organizers, the goal is to move beyond fragmented initiatives, structure bankable projects and align Togo's development efforts with a national impact strategy. Panel recommendations will feed into two strategic deliverables intended to bridge policy goals, project preparation and implementation on the ground, the organizers said.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
