The World Bank on Tuesday unveiled a new plan that calls for 16 billion USA dollars to help African countries adapt to climate change and build up the continent’s resilience to climate shocks.
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The multi-lateral development bank estimates that it will cost $5bn to $10bn per year to help Africa adapt to 2C warming – the limit countries have agreed to meet in order to prevent catastrophic climate change.
“This plan identifies concrete steps that African governments can take to ensure that their countries will not lose hard-won gains in economic growth and poverty reduction, and they can offer some protection from climate change”, he said in a statement. “The key finding of the report is that climate change represents a significant obstacle to the sustained eradication of poverty”, the report notes.
“The consequences of climate change for Africa are devastating and threaten to push millions of people into extreme poverty by 2030, largely due to lower crop yields and higher food prices, and negative health impacts“.
The report notes that changing climate will affect agriculture the most, which is one of the major source of income, food security, nutrition, jobs, livelihoods and export earnings for some of the most poor countries in the world.
Funding for climate action is likely to be a sticking point at the United Nations negotiations. The new Plan aims to both bring world attention to and accelerate resource mobilization for priority climate-resilient and low-carbon projects in the region.
Among the plan’s initiatives is boosting the resilience of Africa’s assets, with a particular focus on small-island developing states at risk from rising waters amid global warming.
“The Africa Climate Business Plan spells out a clear path to invest in the continent’s urgent climate needs and to fast-track the required climate finance to ensure millions of people are protected from sliding into extreme poverty”, said Makhtar Diop, World Bank Group Vice President for Africa.
Strengthening resilience: this involves initiatives aimed at improving Africa’s natural capital (oceans, forests and landscapes), physical capital (transport infrastructure and cities), and human & social capital, including social protection for more vulnerable individuals against climate shocks. The World Bank said it still needs to mobilise another $2 billion to reach its target.
Powering resilience: which involves helping the continent increase low-carbon energy sources, given that societies with deficient energy sources are more severely affected by climate shocks.
And the third area for action will enable resilience by providing essential data, information and decision-making tools for climate-resilient development across sectors.
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The private sector is expected to provide $3.5 billion.
