African Development Bank Group President Akinwumi Adesina has called for more urgent action as climate change continues to wreak havoc in many African countries. He made these remarks during a high-level roundtable on climate finance convened by U.K. Deputy Foreign Minister and Minister of State for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, and the German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Svenja Schulze, according to a press release issued by the Abidjan-based bank.
Adesina stated that the ongoing devastating drought in several parts of Africa underscored the need for all stakeholders to come together to accelerate support and financing for Africa. He emphasized that Africa is in the eye of the storm from climate change, accounting for 9 out of the 10 most vulnerable countries to climate change globally. However, he added that Africa is not getting what it needs to adapt to climate change. Africa received just $30 billion per year for climate adaptation, while its needs are $277 billion per year, leaving a huge financing gap, he said.
Exceeding financing targets for African countries
The African Development Bank has scaled up its climate finance efforts and is exceeding its financing targets for African countries. The bank has launched several innovations to mobilize resources to help scale up climate finance, including a recent $750 million hybrid capital issue in the global capital markets, the first of its kind among multilateral development banks. This initiative was oversubscribed at $6 billion. Additionally, the African Development Bank’s “room-to-run” transaction, with a $2 billion guarantee from the United Kingdom, unlocked an additional $2 billion for the bank to devote to climate finance.
Adesina highlighted the bank’s achievements, stating that the African Development Bank set a target to devote 40 percent of its total financing to climate finance, and they have exceeded this target consistently in the past three years, reaching 55 percent in 2023.
Climate Action Window
In response to the calls for reform of the global financial architecture, Adesina said the African Development Bank had innovated and created the Climate Action Window as part of the 16th replenishment of its African Development Fund. This initiative, with initial funding of $429 million from development partners Germany, the U.K, The Netherlands, and Switzerland, is planned to be increased to $13 billion. The Climate Action Window will directly support the low-income and most vulnerable countries on climate adaptation, mitigation, and technical assistance.
Furthermore, the African Adaptation Acceleration Program, a flagship program of the African Development Bank and the Global Center on Adaptation, is mobilizing $25 billion for climate adaptation, making it the largest climate adaptation program in the world.
For more news on sustainability, click here.
