African Development Bank (AfDB) Group President, Akinwumi Adesina, said Africa will need about 2.7 trillion dollars by 2030 to finance climate change.
Adesina said this at the on-going 2023 AfDB Annual Meetings in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt on Monday.
The theme of the meetings is Mobilising Private Sector Financing for Climate and Green Growth in Africa.
According to the bank president, climate change is causing tremendous havoc in many parts of the continent.
He said in the Sahel, hotter temperatures are drying up limited water, causing water stress for crops and livestock and worsening food insecurity.
He explained that in vast areas of Eastern Southern Africa and in the Horn of Africa in particular, there was a combination of drought and floods that were causing massive losses.
Adesina said : “ We have loss of people, loss or destruction of infrastructure, and of course, leading to rising numbers of what I call climate induced refugees.
“ Africa loses seven to 15 billion dollars a year from climate change that is estimated to rise to 50 billion dollars by 2040 at the current trend.
“But Africa, which accounts for just three per cent of the total cumulative emissions in the world, is now suffering disproportionately the negative consequences of that.
“Just to be clear, Africa is being shortchanged by climate finance. Africa will need 2.7 trillion dollars by 2030 to finance climate change needs as per the nationally determined contributions of Africa’’.
According to him, Africa gets a very paltry 30 billion dollars in climate finance, and clearly needs major support to be able to adapt to climate change which it did not cause.
On adaptation, Adesina said it would cost about 250 billion dollars and 407 billion dollars by 2030 in terms of the needs of Africa to be able to adapt to climate change.
He reiterated that finance was key to adapting climate change on the continent, adding that a lot more was required to support countries on the continent.
“And that is why at the AfDB, in fulfilling our leadership role, we launched together with the Global Center on adaptation, what is called the African adaptation acceleration program.
“The programme is to mobilise 25 billion dollars of support for climate adaptation in Africa.
“We are also putting our money as we are about as a bank today. We devote roughly 67 percent of our climate finance to adaptation.
“We made a commitment to provide 40 percent of our total financing for climate finance, we have exceeded that today, we had 45 per cent of our total financing go into climate,’’ he said.
According to the AfDB boss, the bank is the institution with the highest level of diversion of resources to adaptation of any multilateral development bank globally.
He said Africa’s finance for climate for the private sector would have to grow by 36 per cent annually, adding that about 213 billion dollars in private sector financing was needed yearly.
“Therefore you can understand that there is so much gap to be filled in terms of private sector financing, and that is why this AfDB annual meeting is focusing on its theme.
“Let me say to you that the opportunities of financing climate and also financing green growth events are in Africa,’’ Adesina said.
While stating some projects achieved by the bank, Adesina restated the need to mobilise private financing for green infrastructure.
“ It’s not just infrastructure, quality infrastructure, but green infrastructure. And that’s why we have launched the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa.
“We need to prepare bankable projects for the private sector to invest in and that’s why under the alliance for green infrastructure.
The bank president, while stating some of its projects in different countries, urged governments on the continent to manage its natural capital stock, as it determined a country’s wealth.
Adesina highlighted some knowledge events that would be done at the meeting among which is the inauguration of the African economic outlook.
