The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved a $170.9 million support for the African Development Bank (AfDB)’s Leveraging Energy Access Finance Framework (LEAF) programme.
LEAF aims to unlock commercial and local-currency financing for decentralised renewable energy (DRE) projects in Ghana, Guinea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tunisia.
Development Diaries reports that the GCF’s financing is part of an overall $900 million programme budget whose objective is to scale up rollout of mini-grids, solar home systems, and commercial and industrial solar solutions in the programme countries.
‘GCF is delighted to partner with the African Development Bank to support this timely and critical programme for decentralised renewable energy across these six African countries’, Acting Director of GCF’s Private Sector Facility, Tony Clamp, said in a statement.
‘Green Climate Fund’s commitment will help unlock much-needed commercial capital and local currency financing to help overcome financing barriers exacerbated by Covid-19’.
Climate change, such as rising temperatures and reduced freshwater supplies, as well as biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation are adversely impacting agriculture.
According to the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), climate change could deprive African countries of two to 16 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP).
LEAF seeks to provide renewable energy to six million people and businesses, and also prevent 28.8 million tonnes in CO2 emissions over the lifetime of the systems.
‘GCF’s approval of LEAF is a significant boost for the African Development Bank’s twin ambitions of accelerating electricity access and supporting the transition to clean energy on the continent using decentralised renewable energy solutions, and moreover facilitated through local financing’, AfDB’s Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, Kevin Kariuki, said.
LEAF also aims to strengthen capital markets and crowd-in private sector investors by deploying credit enhancement instruments and technical assistance.
Source: AfDB
Photo source: Tom Stahl
