BOTH the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) will provide 47.5 billion dollars for Africa to combat climate change for five years.
The World Banks says it will spend $22.5 billion for climate adaptation and mitigation from 2021 to 2025, while the AfDB pledged $25 billion between 2020 and 2025.
The World Bank’s commitment was announced by the bank’s Interim President, Kristalina Georgieva, on a BBC programme on Thursday ahead of the third One Plane Summit (OPS), taking place at the United Nations office in Nairobi, Kenya.
The President said the grant is to help Africa tackle the danger posed by climate change, adding that a number of countries in Africa are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change such as prolonged drought, floods, destructive storms, and water scarcity.
“Unless we make Africa more resilient, we will see by 2030, 100 million people more falling into poverty rather than being pulled out of poverty,” Ms Georgieva said.
She made it known that the World Bank had also stepped up its efforts to mobilise investments in renewable energy such as solar, which contributes just 1.5 per cent of the continent’s electricity needs.
The World Bank in a statement on its website indicated that the new pledge doubles commitment made by them for climate-related projects over the last five years. It added that more than half of the $22.5 billion would be devoted to supporting adaptation and resilience in Africa.
“This funding supports increasing adaptation and resilience to major climate impacts like catastrophic floods, droughts, water scarcity, coastal erosion, as well as preparing countries for a low carbon sustainable future,” part of the statement read.
The World Bank’s commitment comes ahead of the One Planet Summit attended by global leaders and global stakeholders to help accelerate climate action investments. The event will focus on renewable energy, protecting biodiversity, and boosting adaptation and resilience.
African Development Bank is also supporting the fight against climate change with $25 billion. AfDB said the funds would be used to increase investment in renewable energy projects like solar power plants.
AfDB president, Akinwumi Adesina, told Reuters that the share of the bank’s portfolio in renewable energy generation between 2013 and 2015 was 59 per cent, but from 2015 to 2018, that has moved to 95 per cent.
