Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire — WHO: African Development Bank Climate Change and Green Growth Department
WHAT: Climate Change and Green Growth Day
WHERE: Day 1: Babacar Ndiaye Auditorium, African Development Bank Headquarters, Abidjan, Day 2: CCIA building, Abidjan
WHEN: 27th and 28th of May, 2019
The African Development Bank will host a Climate Change and Green Growth Day on 27th and 28th May 2019 at its headquarters in Abidjan. The event is part of efforts to create a platform to highlight the Bank's ambitious climate change and green growth goals.
The event entitled 'Moving from emergency relief to building resilience," will feature two panels and a Seminar on the achievements and challenges in addressing climate change through Bank activities across all sectors.
The first panel will explore approaches, opportunities and challenges in building resilience in Africa, while the second will discuss financing and business models for building climate-resilience in Africa.
Climate Change poses significant challenges to Africa's economic development. The continent is already experiencing its impact, evidenced by stress on its water resources and reduced crop productivity. The recent cyclones Idai and Kenneth, are considered to be the worst hurricanes in the southern hemisphere in recent years, resulting in direct economic losses of about $2 billion.
African countries already spend about 2% of their GDP on addressing extreme climate disasters. The cost of adaptation for Africa could be as high as $7-$15 billion per year by 2020, and is expected to rise rapidly as temperatures rise.
However, opportunities exist to harness the continent's natural resources in a sustainable way, and to promote low-carbon, climate resilient development. With increased investment from national governments and development partners, Africa could position itself better to face future climate risks.
In its Climate Change Action Plan 2016 - 2020, the Bank made a commitment to triple its climate finance to reach 40% of its project approvals by 2020.
"It's important that everybody understands that climate change is a cross-cutting issue. It has evolved from an environmental worry to a threat on global development, particularly in Africa. The African Development Bank is demonstrating a strong commitment at both policy and implementation level, to climate compatible development in Africa, " the Bank's Climate Change and Green Growth Director, Prof. Anthony Nyong, named among world's "100 Most Influential People in Climate Policy" said.
Participants will be also invited to an exhibition highlighting the Bank's work in Energy, Agriculture and Forestry, Water, Transport and Cities, Gender and Human Development, and Climate Information Services.
