“To be able to attract private sector finance, which is what we need to be able solve the issues of climate change, we need to create conducive environments,” says Harsen Nyambe, Director, Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy Directorate at the African Union Commission. Addressing Africa’s Green Economy Summit, taking place in Cape Town this week, Nyambe delivered the keynote address on the opening day.
He added: “According to the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), private sector financing for climate action and green growth in Africa will require approximately $230-billion annually to be able close the financing gap by 2030. That is no small figure.”
Nyambe said the continent had to ensure that policies were in place “that have stable, economic conditions that will be able to guarantee security to these investments. We also need to make sure that we derisk and incentivise climate compatible and green growth investment through blended finance and other options that are available to us.” According to the AUC director, one of the major challenges the continent faces is the inability to access climate funds. It is for this reason that the AU established a Climate Finance Unit with the sole mandate to support and assist states in accessing climate funds and attracting investment. This is supported by the government of Canada, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), USAID, the UK and Germany among others. Transforming lives
Harsen Nyambe also reminded the audience that “this whole agenda has a human face. We must make sure that we do not only focus on achieving healthy ecosystems but also on transforming lives. For that reason, we need to make sure that people are actually put at the centre of this transition.”
The African Union is a partner organisation of Africa’s Green Economy Summit, which is centred around connecting the global investment community with investment prospects in Africa’s green economy space.
The AU is also hosting a roundtable at the event that forms part of its Green Recovery Action Plan (GRAP) programme that was launched in 2022 to tackle the combined challenges of the COVID-19 recovery and climate change. GRAP’s aims include promoting green initiatives, enhancing resilience to climate change and supporting AU member States to bolster finance and investment in sustainable projects – a green economic transformation that requires the support of public and private investors.
“Africa is endowed with biological resources and ecosystems which are quite critical for our own sustenance. These resources are actually the catalysts we should use towards our green economy development. It is for this reason that the African Union has developed a number of programmes, including the Continental Circular Economy Action
Plan, African Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and the African Union Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy and Action Plan. This is on top of Agenda 2063, which is our blueprint for the development of the continent.”
“As we gather here to try and find solutions to some of the continental challenges such as climate change as well as unsustainable exploitation of resources, we should remember that this whole agenda has a human face. And for that reason, we need to make sure that people are actually put at the centre of this transition.’
“In driving Africa’s transition to a green economy, it is not just an economic transformation, it is a shift in our mindset and embracing the interconnectedness between environmental, social as well as economic wellbeing.”
“In the pursuit of this path, we must leverage technology, invest in renewable energy, prioritise sustainable agriculture as well as agriculture. We need to also make sure that we solve the social challenges that are linked to this, including creating green jobs for the growing youth population.”
One of the major challenges that we face as a continent is our inability to access climate funds. It is for this reason that the AU established a Climate Finance Unit with the sole mandate to support and assist states in accessing climate funds and attracting investment. This is supported by the government of Canada, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), USAID, the UK and Germany among others.
“According to the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), private sector financing for climate action and green growth in Africa will require approximately $230-million annually to be able close the financing gap by 2030. That is no small figure. Therefore, for us to be able to attract private sector finance, which is what we need to be able solve the issues of climate change, we need to create conducive environments, and that means making sure that we have got policies that are in place that have stable, economic conditions that will be able to guarantee security to these investments. We also need to make sure that we derisk and incentivise climate compatible and green growth investment through blended finance and other options that are available to us. We also need to enhance the capacity of this continent in terms of businesses and develop the right green projects and for banks to issue green and blue bonds.
Critical to build partnerships between stakeholders, including youth and women, We must make sure that we do not only focus on achieving healthy ecosystems but also on transforming lives.
The African Union is a partner organisation of Africa’s Green Economy Summit which is held in Cape Town this week for the second time. The event is centred around connecting the global investment community with investment prospects in Africa’s green economy space.
The AU is also hosting a roundtable at the event that forms part of its Green Recovery Action Plan (GRAP) programme that was launched in 2022 to tackle the combined challenges of the COVID-19 recovery and climate change. GRAP’s aims include promoting green initiatives, enhancing resilience to climate change and supporting AU member States to bolster finance and investment in sustainable projects – a green economic transformation that requires the support of public and private investors.
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