In December 2022, in Tangier, Morocco, on the occasion of the 16th replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF), the African Development Bank and its development partners created a Climate Action Window for low-income countries. The window covers 37 member countries of the ADF, which are also among the world's most fragile and vulnerable to climate change.
The recently published report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2023) confirms that West Africa, East Africa, and Central Africa are among the world's hotspots for human vulnerability to climate change. According to the latest climate vulnerability index released in 2022 by the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, USA, nine out of 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change are in Africa. They are the Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Niger, Sudan and Zimbabwe.
Africa, which suffers the most from the effects of climate change - while polluting the least, accounting for just 2.8% of world greenhouse gas emissions - is the continent that receives the least climate finance: less than 3% of total global climate finance.
In response to this urgent need to boost climate finance flow to support Africa's development and promote a resilient and low-carbon development pathway, the African Development Fund and its partners have committed a total package of $ 8.9 billion to its 2023 to 2025 financing cycle. Of this package, which represents a 14.24% increase over the previous replenishment of $7.4 billion, $429 million is earmarked as seed money for the new Climate Action Window to reach up to $13 billion from traditional and non-traditional partners, as well as state and non-state, including the private sector.
"African low-income countries are the most vulnerable and least prepared to tackle climate change," said Bank Group President Akinwumi Adesina during the ADF-16 replenishment meeting. He said the new funds would support the development of sustainable, climate-resilient and quality infrastructure.
This new window's impact
The new Climate Action Window is structured around three components: adaptation (75% of resources), mitigation (15%), and technical assistance (10%). It covers six sectors: agriculture and food security; water security; climate services and information; transport and resilient, low-carbon infrastructure; green energy; and green finance. The window's resources will provide access to climate-resilient agricultural technologies to some 20 million farmers in 30 ADF-eligible countries. It will also offer weather-indexed crop insurance; rehabilitate one million hectares of degraded land; provide sustainable and resilient water, sanitation and health services to 18 million additional people; and renewable energy to an estimated 9.5 million people. The window's technical support component will help African Development Fund recipient countries to tailor their national climate policies and strategies, creating an enabling environment for climate investment and developing viable, investment-ready projects. It will also help them access other sources of global climate finance.
"The Climate Action Window and the commitment to provide 40% of the core financing of the ADF 16 replenishment towards climate finance will help to build climate resilience in Africa," said Dr. Adesina after the new window was approved.
The ADF Climate Action Window expands on the Bank's existing initiatives, such as the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program launched in 2021 in partnership with the Global Center on Adaptation. An ambitious, transformative agenda to accelerate climate adaptation in Africa, the program's target is to mobilize $25 billion by 2025. The Bank, which has committed to contributing $12.5 billion to the program, continues to mobilize resources from its partners. This funding will accelerate climate-change adaptation by deploying smart digital technologies for agriculture and food security, investing in climate-resilient infrastructure, encouraging entrepreneurship and job creation in climate adaptation and resilience, and supporting innovative financial initiatives.
"Climate-change adaptation is our no.1 priority under the new strategic framework on climate change and green growth adopted by the Board of Directors in October 2021," said Anthony Nyong, Director of the Climate Change and Green Growth Department at the African Development Bank. "With transformative programs such as the Africa Adaptation Programme, the bank is leading the way for the rest of the world on the urgency and importance of investing in climate adaptation in Africa."
The Climate Action Window will be discussed by the Bank's Governors at their 2023 Annual Meetings to be held from 22 to 26 May in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on the theme of "Mobilizing Private Sector Financing for Climate and Green Growth in Africa." The meetings comprise the 58th Annual Meeting of the African Development Bank and the 49th Meeting of the African Development Fund, the Bank Group's concessional arm.
Dr. Adesina's opening address at the 16th replenishment meeting of the ADF.
Dr. Adesina's closing speech at the 16th replenishment meeting of the ADF.
