AfDB Canvasses African Green Fund

The African Development Bank (AfDB), last Thursday said African continent stood a better chance of effectively managing the threatening problems of climate change by floating African specific green fund.

Aly Abou-Sabaa, Chairman, AfDB Climate Change Coordination Committee, said this in Lisbon, Portugal, while addressing members of the organised private sector in Africa at the ongoing AfDB Annual General Meeting.

He said that climate variability would cost African an annual loss of between 1.5 per cent and three per cent in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030.

Abou-sabaa, who solicited the colloboration of Africa countries, especially the organised private sector, said that “Africa is the continent most impacted by climate change”.

He commended the bank for its proactive measure in managing challenges of the climate change by adopting an action plan that permeates their operation.

According to him, the three pillars of the action plan focused on low-carbon development, climate change adaptation and establishment of a climate change funding platform.

Abou-Sabaa said that AfDB supported the initiatives of adapting to climate change and the mitigation in agriculture, water, transportation and energy consolidation in the continent.

He said that the enormous climate change challenges in African indicated that only a multi-billion dollar moderated adaptation would make Africa to realise its aspiration in the hydra-headed disaster.

Abou-Sabaa said that the estimated cost needed to put Africa on a low-carbon growth road-map currently stood at about 31 billion dollars per year and 68 billion dollars per year by 2030.

He said that AfDB had embarked on a collaborative meeting with partners on ways of creating a better window of understanding for African countries.