The African Development Bank (AfDB) has said that Africa will need about $2.7 trillion by 2030 to finance climate change.
The bank’s President Akinwunmi Adesina gave the indication at the ongoing 2023 AfDB Annual Meetings in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt on Monday, May 22, 2023, with the theme of the meetings being “Mobilising Private Sector Financing for Climate and Green Growth in Africa”.
Adesina said climate change is causing tremendous havoc in many parts of the continent, adding that in the Sahel, hotter temperatures are drying up limited water, causing water stress for crops and livestock and worsening food insecurity.
He explained that in vast areas of Eastern Southern Africa and in the Horn of Africa in particular, there was a combination of drought and floods that are causing massive losses.
“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.
“Africa loses seven to $15 billion a year from climate change that is estimated to rise to 50 billion dollars by 2040 at the current trend.
“But Africa, which accounts for just three percent 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 by 2030 to finance climate change needs as per the nationally determined contributions of Africa,” he said.
Adesina revealed that Africa gets a paltry $30 billion in climate finance, and clearly, needs significant support to adapt to climate change which it did not cause.
On adaptation, he said it would cost about $250 billion and $407 billion by 2030 in terms of Africa’s needs to adapt to climate change.
He reiterated that finance was key to adapting to climate change on the continent, adding that a lot more was required to support countries on the continent.
“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 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.
According to the AfDB boss, the bank is the institution with the highest level of diversion of resources to the adaptation of any multilateral development bank globally.
He said Africa’s finance for climate for the private sector would have to grow by 36 percent annually, adding that about $213 billion in private sector financing was needed yearly.
The 58th Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank and the 49th Meetings of the Board of Governors of the African Development Fund will end on May 26.
The meetings are the Bank Group’s most important event annually, attracting around 3,000 participants.
By Dare Akogun
