Stakeholders converge on Sharm El Sheikh for AfDB’s 2023 Annual Meetings; ‘Africa needs $2.7trn to tackle climate change crisis by 2030’_ Adesina

Major stakeholders on the African continent have converged on Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, for African Development Bank (AfDB) Group’s Annual Meetings.

The 2023 AfDB Annual Meeting which opened on Monday in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt had Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), says Africa will need about $2.7 trillion by 2030 to finance climate change.

The AfDB boss said climate change is causing huge damage in many parts of the continent, adding that hotter temperatures are drying up limited water, causing water stress for crops and livestock and worsening food insecurity.

He said, “We have a loss of people, loss or destruction of infrastructure, and of course, leading to rising numbers of what I call climate-induced refugees.”

Adesina added, “Africa loses seven to 15 billion dollars a year from climate change that is estimated to rise to $50 billion by 2040 at the current trend.

“But Africa, which accounts for just three per cent of the total cumulative emissions in the world, is now suffering disproportionately the negative consequences of that.

“Just to be clear, Africa is being shortchanged by climate finance. Africa will need 2.7 trillion dollars by 2030 to finance climate change needs as per the nationally determined contributions of Africa’’.

According to him, Africa gets a very meagre $30 billion in climate finance, and apparently, needs major support to be able to adapt to climate change which it did not cause.

Speaking on adaptation, Adesina said it would cost about $250 billion and $407 billion by 2030 in terms of the needs of Africa to be able to adapt to climate change.

“And that is why at the AfDB, in fulfilling our leadership role, launched together with the Global Center on adaptation, what is called the African adaptation acceleration program.

“The programme is to mobilise 25 billion dollars of support for climate adaptation in Africa.

“We are also putting our money as we are about as a bank today. We devote roughly 67per cent of our climate finance to adaptation.

“We made a commitment to provide 40 per cent of our total financing for climate finance, we have exceeded that today, we had 45 per cent of our total financing, go into climate,’’ he said.

The stakeholders include Central Bank Governors, national and international financial institutions, economic, environmental and energy experts, among others.

The meetings are said to be a unique opportunity for knowledge dissemination among high-level decision-makers in Africa, officials of bilateral and multilateral development agencies, leading academics and representatives of NGOs, CSOs and the private sector.

The thrust of the meetings is to, among other things, deliberate on ways of mobilising private sector financing for green growth in Africa.

The meetings comprise the 58th Annual Assembly of the AfDB and the 49th meeting of the African Development Fund (ADF).

According to the bank, the theme of this year’s event highlights climate change as growing threat to lives and livelihoods in Africa.

The bank said that the meetings would also provide a framework for the governors of the Bank Group to share their experiences in mobilising domestic and international private sector financing.

“It will harness the natural capital of Regional Member Countries to bridge the climate financing gap and promote green growth transitions.

“The governors will discuss the challenges Africa faces in attracting private sector financing in low-carbon investments and the practical policies needed to address those challenges and other related risks and barriers.

“The highlights of the Bank Group’s most important annual event include the Presidential Dialogue on the theme: ‘The Changing Global Financial Architecture and the Role of MDBs’.”

The meeting would also feature inauguration of the African Economic Outlook 2023 with the theme: “Mobilising Private Sector Financing for Climate and Green Growth in Africa”.

It said there would be deliberations on ways of leveraging innovative financing instruments to crowd – in private climate investments in Africa.

“Other thematic knowledge events include harnessing natural capital to finance climate and green growth in Africa, key actions to achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development in Africa.

The event, which began on Monday, May 22, will end on May 26.