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THE African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced the launch of the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme (AAAP) to mobilise US$25 billion to scale up and accelerate climate change adaptation actions across Africa.
The announcement came during last week’s Climate Adaptation Summit (CAS) 2021, hosted by the government of the Netherlands and the Global Centre on Adaptation.
The AAAP is a joint initiative between the AfDB and the Global Centre on Adaptation. It is expected to scale up innovative and transformative actions on climate adaptation across Africa.
“Our ambition is bold: to galvanise climate resilience actions, support countries to accelerate and scale up climate adaptation and resilience as well as mobilise financing at scale for climate adaptation in Africa,” AfDB president Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said during the inaugural ministerial dialogue held as part of the summit.
During engagement a number of speakers acknowledged Africa’s vulnerability to climate change as well as Africans’ innovative responses to challenges.
Dr Adesina has outlined a number of his bank’s initiatives, including the $20 billion ‘Desert to Power’ project meant to create a solar zone in the Sahel, the largest in the world.
“Our Youth Adaptation flagship will unlock $3 billion for the youth, support 10 000 youth-led SMEs in climate resilience, and build capacity for one million youth on climate adaptation,” he said.
The bank has said that its initiatives have leveraged $450 million and provided 19 million farmers in 27 countries with climate resilient agricultural technologies, raising average yields by 60 percent.
The ongoing Covid-19 crisis formed a backdrop to the meeting with delegates stressing the need to harness energy and entrepreneurship of the youth and developing nature-based solutions.
Dr Adesina shared the platform with Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, 8th UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and incumbent Antonio Guterres, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
World Bank president David Malpass and IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva also spoke.
“I hope that 2021 will be a year of heightened international ambition and action on climate change, after a difficult 2020, and this conference will help achieve that goal,” Rutte was quoted as saying.
Acknowledging the “huge gaps” remaining in financing for adaptation in developing countries, Mr Guterres said 50 percent of all climate finance provided by developed countries and multilateral development banks should be allocated to adaptation and resilience in developing countries.
Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said his country was working with the private sector with the assistance of the Green Climate Fund, “to establish a multi-million-dollar green fund to support climate adaptation interventions and transition to renewable energy.”
The annual Climate Adaptation Summit ws meant to answer the UN call for more concrete plans and more ambition from more countries and more businesses to make the world more climate resilient.
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