Ambassador Seyni Nafo is an influential voice in global climate diplomacy and a driving force behind Africa’s climate and sustainable development efforts.
Currently serving as Co-Chair of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board for 2025, he has played a pivotal role for several years, shaping international climate finance policy. He is also a member of the UN Secretary-General High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Action, offering strategic guidance on accelerating global climate solutions.
A tireless advocate for Africa's climate resilience, Amb. Nafo leads the African Union’s Africa Adaptation Initiative (AAI) Technical Support Unit, launched at COP21 in Paris to deliver concrete climate adaptation actions across the continent. He is also Secretary General of the Adaptation of African Agriculture (AAA) Initiative, a continental effort to strengthen food security through climate-smart agriculture, and serves as Goodwill Ambassador for resource mobilization for the African Union’s Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI).
From 2016 to 2020, he served as Mali’s Climate Ambassador and Special Envoy for Climate Change under President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. A veteran of international negotiations, Amb. Nafo was the Chair of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) for 2016-2017. At the historic COP21 Paris Agreement negotiations, he led the track on Pre-2020 Climate Action for Africa and over 135 developing countries, pushing forward progress on mitigation, adaptation, and finance.
In addition to his public service, Amb. Nafo was recently elected Chairman (incoming) of HYDROMA Inc., a world leader in natural (geologic) hydrogen development. HYDROMA aims to unlock 100 million tons of zero-carbon hydrogen annually by 2030, accelerating the global clean energy transition.