African leaders push for climate investment at Ethiopia summit

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — African leaders met Monday in the Ethiopian capital for the second Africa Climate Summit, where they proposed a new way of thinking about climate adaptation funding and called for the continent to be viewed not as a victim, but as an investment opportunity.

With a population of more than one billion, African countries have been hit hardest by climate disasters such as droughts and floods, which have made millions of people vulnerable. In 2023, at the inaugural summit in Kenya, African leaders made ambitious plans to increase renewable energy, but funding constraints have slowed implementation.

This year’s summit aims to unlock climate financing and accelerate Africa-led solutions and adaptation.

It is “time to replace climate aid with climate investment," Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said during the summit's opening ceremony, which was attended by heads of state from African nations as well as business leaders, climate scientists, activists and other stakeholders.

Amos Wemanya, a climate action campaigner with Greenpeace Africa, said the climate adaptation funding gap can be met by taxing polluters.

"We need to tax the polluters and the super-rich to generate the resources needed to make them pay for the climate plunder they are causing the continent,” he said.

Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, the chairperson of the African Union — a continental body of 55 member states and a co-host of the summit — proposed a framework of “climate justice” to help vulnerable countries grappling with the dual challenges of climate change and debt.

The summit declaration, which will outline Africa’s priorities and proposed solutions, is expected to be finalized this week, during the three-day gathering. It will then be presented at COP30 in November. COP30 president, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, attended the Africa summit and expressed his solidarity.

Ethiopia, the host of this year's summit, will inaugurate the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project along the Blue Nile on Tuesday. It is expected to produce more than 5,000 megawatts, doubling Ethiopia’s current output, part of which will be exported to neighboring countries.

In July, the country launched a national campaign to plant 700 million trees in one day as part of an ambitious conservation initiative that aims to plant 50 billion trees by 2026.

AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

African heads of state and government representatives walk into the plenary hall for the opening of the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Artists walk on stilts during the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, September 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Dancers perform during the opening of the High-Level Leaders Summit at the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) at the Addis International Convention Center (AICC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, center, and Kenyan President William Ruto, left, walk with other African heads of state and government representatives ahead of the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio's capital city said Wednesday that they have gathered enough evidence to link a man charged in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her husband in their Columbus home last month to the killings.

Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in an Associated Press interview that authorities now believe Michael David McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon who was living in Chicago, was the person seen walking down a dark alley near Monique and Spencer Tepe's home in video footage from the night of the murders. His vehicle has also been identified traveling near the house, and a firearm found in his Illinois residence also traced to evidence at the scene, she said.

An attorney representing McKee could not be identified through court listings.

His arrest Saturday capped off nearly two weeks of speculation surrounding the mysterious killings that attracted national attention. No obvious signs of forced entry were found at the Tepes’ home. Police also said no weapon was found there, and murder-suicide was not suspected. Further, nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and their dog were left unharmed in the home.

“What we can tell you is that we have evidence linking the vehicle that he was driving to the crime scene. We also have evidence of him coming and going in that particular vehicle,” Bryant told the AP. “What I can also share with you is that there were multiple firearms taken from the property of McKee, and one of those firearms did match preliminarily from a NIBIN (ballistic) hit back to this actual homicide.”

Bryant said that the department wants the public to keep the tips coming. Investigators were able to follow up on every phone call, email and private tip shared from the community to the department and some of that information allowed them to gather enough evidence to make an arrest, she said.

That work culminated in the apprehension of McKee in Rockford, Illinois, where the hospital where he worked — OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center — has said it is cooperating with the investigation. He has been charged with premeditated aggravated murder in the shooting deaths. Monique Tepe, who divorced McKee in 2017, was 39. Her husband, a dentist whose absence from work that morning prompted the first call to police, was 37.

McKee waived his right to an extradition hearing on Monday during an appearance in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Winnebago County, Illinois, where he remains in jail. Bryant said officials are working out details of his return to Ohio, with no exact arrival date set. His next hearing in Winnebago County is scheduled for Jan. 23.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Wednesday that the city doesn't prioritize high-profile cases any more than others, noting that the city's closure rate on criminal cases exceeds the national average. The city also celebrated in 2025 its lowest level of homicides and violent crime since 2007, Ginther said.

“Every case matters. Ones that receive national attention, and those that don’t,” he told the AP. “Every family deserves closure and for folks to be held accountable, and the rest of the community deserves to be safe when dangerous people are taken off the street.”

Ginther said it is vital for central Ohioans to continue to grieve with the Tepes' family, which includes two young children, and loved ones, as they cope with “such an unimaginable loss.”

“I want our community to wrap our arms around this family and these children for years to come,” he said.

This undated booking photo provided by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, shows Michael David McKee, who was charged in the killing of his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her husband Spencer Tepe at their Columbus, Ohio, home on Dec. 30, 2025. (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Spencer and Monique Tepe's home in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)

This image taken from video shows Michael David McKee walking into the courtroom on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Rockford, Ill. (WIFR News/Pool Photo via AP)