I am delighted to join the international community as we celebrate World Intellectual Property Day 2020 under the theme "Innovate for a Green Future."
The world needs a green future and building that future must start now. Africa is blessed with abundant resources. The sun can be Africa's largest supplier of energy, together with its vast resources of geothermal, wind and hydropower.
The African Development Bank is helping to unlock Africa's renewable energy potential. We supported the world's largest concentrated solar power station in Morocco, the largest wind power station in Lake Turkana in Kenya, and now supporting the development of the "Desert to Power" initiative that is planned to develop 10,000 MW of solar power across the Sahel zone of Africa. When completed this will become the world's largest solar zone.
The African Development Bank has doubled its support for climate finance to $25 billion over the next five years. We are supporting financial innovations to support businesses that are green, while ensuring balance between climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Africa's green future requires continuous innovations. The African Development Bank stands fully ready to advance Africa's greener future, today and into the nearest future.