Despite Africa contributes weakly to global greenhouse gas emissions, the continent bears a disproportionate brunt of climate impacts on vulnerable urban and rural communities from various hazards (heat waves, droughts, floods …), exacerbating hunger, insecurity and displacement. Addressing these risks and adaptation requires more than fragmented data and behaviours: it demands coordinated action, inclusive knowledge, and durable partnerships between countries, regions and continents.

CAPA (Climate Action within the AU-EU Partnership in Africa) is a transdisciplinary consortium bringing together African and European scientists, policymakers, funders, service providers, and communities to strengthen disaster risk reduction and climate resilience across the five African regions. The project addresses cascading impacts that cross sectors as security of people, goods and property, water resources, food, energy and health.

Based on extensive mapping, CAPA will develop a joint roadmap 2028-2034 with implementation priorities on research, innovation and capacity, will organise regional and pan-African forums for cross-view, and will implement demonstrators for e-learning and education. It integrates both scientific expertise and local knowledge to develop climate services that are relevant, accessible, and actionable for local/regional communities and sectors.

CAPA gathers 15 African and 9 European institutions across 17 countries, with five African universities representing all five African regions. Together, they will co-design a continental roadmap, develop regional action plans, and build long-term institutional capacity.

Towards a Long-term European-African Partnership on Climate Risk Reduction and Resilience (LEAP-Clim) of CCSE Climate Pillar, CAPA project (2026-2029) is its second component, after a first multilateral demonstrator in West Africa (CS4RRA 2023-26). It will be complemented by research projects under selection and by a Co-fund project in 2027.

Overall CAPA will contribute to the African Union's Agenda 2063, the 6 STI Areas of Interventions in the Environment Sector of STISA 2034, and the European Union Framework Programme on Research and Innovation for 2028-2034.

Aligning existing climate initiatives and fostering coordinated investment between African and European countries, CAPA will strengthen African climate science and services to reduce vulnerability of communities within their regional specificities. It operates under Open Science and FAIR principles, ensuring that data, methods, and results remain findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable and African-owned.