African Development Bank and partners to develop green financing instruments

Accra, Oct. 15, GNA
– The African Development Bank, in partnership with the Climate Investment
Funds, has commissioned the Coalition for Green Capital to prepare a study on
the creation of national climate change funds and green banks in Africa.

CGC will identify
and work with six African countries to conduct feasibility studies for the
project, which was initiated at the Green Bank Design Summit held in Paris in
March, 2019.

The Summit tasked 23
developing countries to craft a new model to mobilise and accelerate investment
in clean energy.

Ms. Andrea Colnes,
the Director of Global Green Bank Development at the CGC, noted: “For
countries’ to better access climate finance and fully engage the private
sector, the climate finance system must reorient toward national financial
capacity that is able to channel capital to projects and markets where it is
needed most.”

“When paired with
effective grant programmes through National Climate Change Funds and strong
enabling environments and policies, locally-based Green Banks are powerful
tools to address market needs, understand local risks and drive private
investment.”

Dr. Anthony Nyong,
the Bank’s Director for Climate Change and Green Growth, welcomed the
collaboration.

“Green financing
vehicles are increasingly recognised as a powerful instrument to mobilise
private sector capital for low carbon and climate resilient development. Their
ability to access even limited amounts of local currency finance presents
significant opportunities to manage risks, attract concessional finance from
climate funds and crowd in private sector finance,” Dr Nyong said.

“We are excited to
work with the team from CGC and look forward to presenting progress reports at
the Green Bank Summit in 2020 and COP26.”

Green Banks and
National Climate Change Funds can play an important role in mobilising finance
to support low-carbon, climate-resilient development, using methods such as
blended finance to drive increased private investment.

Countries can
mobilise funds from the diaspora, national financial institutions, private
investors, asset managers, sovereign wealth funds, and more.

These instruments
and funds can support the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions
(NDCs) and Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Strategic Plans for Climate
Resilience and NDCs, and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs).

GNA