The African Development Bank (AfDB) has launched a model for deploying green financing across Africa.
The bank said the launch of the African Green Bank Initiative is to boost the promotion of resilient, green and sustainable growth across the continent.
It is understood that African countries still face significant challenges in financing their climate transition.
In a statement on its website, the bank said the initiative, which was presented at the recent UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt, will support the implementation of African countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
‘Part of the African Financial Alliance on Climate Change (AFAC), the Green Bank Initiative will be supported by the African Green Finance Facility Fund (AG3F)’, the statement read.
‘AG3F will provide technical assistance to governments and financial institutions in creating and capitalising green facilities, co-invest alongside those in green projects and provide de-risking instruments to increase private sector mobilisation’.
During the launch, the AfDB Vice President for Energy, Power, Climate and Green Growth, Kevin Kariuki, said the African Green Bank model would help increase the continent’s access to global climate finance.
‘The Green Bank Initiative is a powerful tool for reducing financing costs and mobilising private sector investments in climate action in Africa’, he said.
He said multilateral development banks and international financial institutions had a crucial role in enabling local financial institutions to develop a green pipeline of projects and ease their access to resources.
‘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 added.
The bank said the European asset management firm, Amundi, will back the initiative through technical assistance activities, including training green facilities’ management and investment teams.
Source: AfDB
Photo source: AfDB
