The Board of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved on June 27th the creation and management of a pilot Africa Climate Technology Finance Center and Network (ACTFCN) for a three-year period to support the deployment and scaling-up of both climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies. The Bank will implement the project through the execution of a US$ 9.09-million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Trust Fund and US$ 5.25 million from the GEF Special Climate Change Fund.
Following the Board's decision, Alex Rugamba, Director of the AfDB's Energy, Environment and Climate Change Department outlined the role and potential impact of the network: "Our hope is that the project will both increase investments in mitigation and adaptation technologies as well as strengthen the enabling environment for technology transfer. Over time, this will contribute towards reducing the trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions in Sub-Saharan Africa and less vulnerability to the adverse impacts of climate change."
The regional centre will support African countries in scaling-up the deployment of low-carbon and climate resilient technologies for climate change mitigation and adaptation. This will be done through enhancing networking and knowledge dissemination enabling scaling-up of technology transfer through policy, institutional and organizational reforms, as well as integrating climate change technologies into investment programs and projects.
Two infrastructure sectors have been selected for the pilot phase: the energy sector for climate change mitigation measures, and the water sector for adaptation measures. The energy sector is an important contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and various mitigation measures, initiatives and financing instruments seek to increase the role of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency. On the mitigation front, the centre is aligned with the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative for which the Bank hosts the Africa Hub and the Bank's Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) and will inter alia support the mainstreaming of low carbon and clean technologies in SE4ALL Action Agendas and Investment Prospectuses. Water management, with its important impact on agriculture, industry, and urban and rural populations is a key area for adaptation measures. On the adaptation side, the centre will therefore be complementary to the Bank-hosted Africa Water Facility and the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI).
The ACTFCN will address some of the key issues related to access to information and expertise relevant to the African context, such as dissemination of best practices, weak enabling environments at the national level, and lack of bankable projects.
The Bank will collaborate with public and private sector stakeholders in Africa and civil society involved in enhancing and disseminating knowledge, improving the enabling environments and in planning, financing and implementing mitigation and adaptation investments.
