By Jeff Kapembwa
‘Big Wigs’ of the African Development Bank have thrown their weight towards financing climate change in Africa under a climate financing window and ‘neutralize the pangs’ of the human induced crisis, dwarfing the globe, the environment and humanity in collaboration with the cooperating partners.
The Pan African Bank has dangled over US$215 million towards climate mitigation and resilience while donors have opened their ‘accounts’ extending a staggering US$420 million to support countries under the ‘Climate Action Window’ to precipitate the impasse.
The 59th Annual Meeting of the Board for Governors and the 50th Annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank held from 27 May to June 1 in Nairobi deliberated and closed curtains at the country’s Convention Centre with focus on redressing the recurring headwind that has decimated economies of the continent, many grappling with mitigation and recovery, yet lacking resources.
A communique issued at the end of the AfDB’s board of Governors in collaboration with other like-minded players highlighted threatening concerns on the impact of climate change on the environment and humanity and called for joint and rapid response mentally, physically and financially-with a call to order.
Themed: “Africa’s Transformation: The African Development Bank, and the reform of the Global Financial Architecture” and drew various interest groups and hordes of financing institutions and cooperating partners with bias towards plugging climatic change crisis, remain certain of the institution’s capacity to overcome the calamity and insulate affected countries.
Though concerned about the impacts already being experienced by African and regional member Countries over the crisis’ increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters and extreme Weather events exacerbated by climate change, the players are confident that Africa has capacity to build a fundamentally green energy infrastructure through a low-carbon trajectory.
“We call upon Management to further strengthen the African Development Bank Group’s support to Regional Members Countries in capitalising on this potential.” The communique read in part.
There is unwavering need for substantial financial resources to support climate action in Africa and welcome the delivery beyond target in 2022, on the commitment to mobilize US$100 billion annually to help developing countries to combat climate change and invest in resilience with a record amount of US$115.9 billion mobilized.
There is an urgent call for a New Collective Quantified Goal to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change in the context of sustainable development and efforts with bias towards fighting poverty.
To eradicate poverty, including by making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low GreenHouse Gas (GHGs) emissions and climate-resilient development, there is need for co-existence for durable solutions, a call for collective collaboration to achieve adaptation as evidenced through the increasing lending levels in climate financing.
The board and other interest groups in the fight against climate change remain hopeful of sustained progress towards doubling the collective provision of climate finance for adaptation.
They welcome the first steps towards the operationalization of funding arrangements for loss and damage, while calling for swift action and building bridges to avert further damage.
“We commend the African Development Bank Group for achieving 55% of its 2023 lending for climate finance, exceeding the institutional target of 40%, and urge for a thorough application of the joint MDB methodology of climate finance accounting.”
The financial institution was encouraged to continue supporting countries in the implementation of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in line with the Bank Group’s newly approved 10-Year Strategy.
There is greater appreciation of the efforts of the regional member states to expand access to clean, renewable, affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy services for all, and, further, while stimulating and engendering a low-carbon, gender—sensitive and climate-resilient development in line with the Paris Agreement.
This, it is envisaged, could include additional partnerships, platforms, or other modalities to bring partners together to help address a specific challenge. The African Development Bank Group has been encouraged to work closely with other partners to strive to improve the effort of climate finance accounting to increase accuracy, transparency, and predictability.
We commend the Africa Development Bank Group’s announcement at COP28, of plans to introduce Climate Resilient Debt Clauses from this year, which temporarily pause debt repayments when countries are hit by disasters.
We also commend the African Development Bank Group for the successful transformation of the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa into Africa’s leading blended finance facility in support of the energy transition and call for continued backing by donors.
Reaffirm appreciation for the creation of the Climate Action Window of the African Development Fund. The ‘Climate Action Window’, which has a transformative potential, will deliver additional resources to the most vulnerable and accelerate progress towards low-carbon development.
We express appreciation to the Governments of Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom for their support towards the opening of the Climate Action Window for ADF countries with the contribution of $429 million.
We encourage other participants and donors to support the fund to enable the African Development Fund to achieve its ambition.
The investment commitment of over $175 million, as announced during COP28 and at these 2024 Annual Meetings, to the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA or Alliance) by African and global institutions, and philanthropies and national Governments, to rapidly scale up project development and project preparation financing for transformative climate-aligned
infrastructure projects across Africa.
Estimates by the Climate Policy Initiative shows that Africa may need US$3 trillion+ between 2020 and 2030 to implement its NDCs under the Paris Agreement, as a cost of the continent’s contribution to limiting warming to 1.5°C and addressing the biggest impacts of climate change.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres is fearful of the impact of climate change on the world if not redressed like ‘yesterday’ and that it has become difficult to estimate the cost of reversing its impact.
“The planet is emitting around 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually and will burn through its remaining “carbon budget” of around 200 billion tons well before 2030.” Global emissions need to fall 9% each year between now and 2030 to keep the 1.5 degree Celsius limit alive. Last year, they rose by 1%.
The bill for the climate crisis will keep growing without meaningful action and that: “Even if emissions hit zero tomorrow, a recent study found that climate chaos will still cost at least $38 trillion a year by 2050,” Guterres said.
Fossil fuels
The climate crisis has been a signature issue of Guterres’ tenure since becoming the world’s top diplomat over seven-and-a-half years ago.