The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced plans to roll out the first green finance facilities in two public financial institutions in Benin and Ivory Coast as part of its African Green Bank initiative.
Development Diaries reports that the initiative was conceived as part of measures to facilitate access to global finance from the current three percent to ten percent annually by 2030.
According to the bank, the host institutions are La Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations du Bénin (CDC Benin) and the Ivorian National Investment Bank (BNI).
It is understood that the bank launched the African Green Bank Initiative in November last year to support the implementation of African countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
The bank, in a statement, noted that as Africa’s premier development finance institution, it does not only provide fiscal resources to its regional member countries; it also galvanises global support in promoting resilient, green, and sustainable growth.
Africa is faced with the problem of how to advance its economic transformation and industrialisation path while being responsive to climate change.
In a 2023 report, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) noted that climate finance committed and mobilised for Africa fell short of the continent’s needs and historical carbon emission shares.
This has created an estimated annual financing gap of $99.9 to $127.2 billion in 2020 to 2030.
According to the AfDB, African countries still face significant challenges in financing their climate transition.
‘While investment needs resulting from NDCs are estimated at $2.8 trillion by 2030, funds invested on the continent still represent a limited share of global green finance flows, and the share covered by the private sector remains limited’, the statement read.
AfDB noted that the initiative followed an assessment by the bank and the Climate Investment Funds in six African countries: Benin, Ghana, Mozambique, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zambia.
Source: AfDB
Photo source: United Nations
