The Swedish government has pledged to commit €7.5 million to a special fund of the Climate for Development in Africa Program (ClimDev-Africa) established to pool resources and finance demand-driven projects in Africa that intend to generate and disseminate climate information to all levels of society. This pledge and other expressions of interest and intent to partner with ClimDev-Africa in delivering objectives came during a high level roundtable hosted by ClimDev-Africa on 25 April 2012 in Stockholm, Sweden.
The meeting was chaired by Ms. Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Director General of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), who pointed out that the meeting was timely in the context of the Stockholm+40 Partnership Forum for Sustainable Development and the UN Conference for Sustainable Development (Rio+20). SIDA supports the ClimDev-Africa Special Fund and encouraged others to do as well to help it reach the €20 million required to begin operations.
The ClimDev-Africa partners, including the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), sponsored the event with host, SIDA. Over 50 participants attended the meeting, including Hon. Terezya Huvisa, Tanzanian Minster of Environment and Vice President of AMCEN, and Mrs. Rhoda Tumusiime, AUC Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture. Eight donor nations were represented at the meeting, including Germany (KfW), France (AFD), Ireland (Irish Aid), Saudi Arabia (Saudi Development Fund), Finland (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Canada (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), UK (DFID) and Sweden (SIDA).
The Swedish Climate Ambassador visited the meeting in a demonstration of the importance of the roundtable to Sweden.