- East Africa’s largest economy Kenya grappling with about 79 per cent climate change financing gap.
- The virtual academy will provide access to borderless, flexible, informative training to foster skills, knowledge and collaborations on climate change.
- Lack of understanding about the effects of climate change has also contributed to the huge climate change financing gap.
Kenya is facing a 79 percent climate change financing gap amidst increasing global warming effects causing havoc in developing countries. The African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) Climate Change Programme lead, Dr Joel Oyango, says the situation will turn worse if nothing is done to finance adaptation to climate change effects.
“Kenya is already feeling the effects of climate change. The widespread poverty, recurrent droughts, and floods coupled by inequitable land distribution. Overdependence on rain-fed agriculture and limited coping mechanisms all combine to increase people’s vulnerability to climate change,” Dr Onyango said.
He said many Kenyans have little security against intense climatic effects. They have few resource reserves, poor housing and depend on natural resources for their living.
“The most affected sectors being agriculture, especially those depending on rain-fed irrigation. It is important for the country to continue implementing strategies that contribute to mitigation and adaptation to the negative impacts of climate change in order to protect its citizens and economy,” he added.
Dr. Onyango was speaking during the launch of ACTS Pathways Academy. The academy is a new resource training centre for action on climate change empowerment.
Academy for climate action
The virtual academy will provide access to borderless, flexible, informative training to foster skills, knowledge and collaborations on climate change.
The virtual academy will enhance capacity on climate change matters in Africa. Some of the goals include climate change modeling for decision making, climate policy and leadership. It will also pursue climate change sustainable financing and science communication for climate action.
“We intend to train over 5,000 experts in the first year and partner with four different universities in Africa in a bid to enhance capacity in the continent to contribute to climate action”
Africa Development Bank (AfDB) Climate Change Expert Winnie Chepkemoi Mutai says lack of understanding about the effects of climate change has also contributed to the huge climate change financing gap.
“The private sector can play a huge role in bridging the financing gap, however, many private sector actors do not understand the importance of climate financing. Such initiatives will help them see the benefits of increasing their investment in climate change,” she added.
On his part, Africa Youth Commission Project Lead for Africa Activists for Climate Justice Programme Michael Khaduyu says the academy will go a long way in enhancing capacity among the youth in Africa.
“It is a fact that climate change has presented challenges globally, regionally and locally. With efforts being made to deal with these challenges, collaborative and inclusive efforts from different stakeholders is necessary to realize climate action goals,” Khaduyu noted.
Also Read: Climate financing: Africa’s green bonds uptake on a roll
Commitment to fight climate change
Many policymakers are calling for fresh commitments and obligations by rich countries to meet ambitious climate mitigation targets. The fresh financing commitments will help the most vulnerable countries adapt fast. Such pledges will require substantial financial resources, particularly in Africa.
Projections show that Africa will require up to $3 trillion between 2020 and 2030 to achieve the climate action plans. These plans are outlined in the continent’s member countries’ nationally determined contributions (NDCs). The amount is about $277 billion every year to help mitigate against negative impacts of changing climate. At the moment, Africa is using between 5 and 15 percent of its annual GDP to tackle climate change.
African Climate Action Summit
As a result, it is unsurprising that discussions about climate finance in Africa are frequently intense and contested.
As Kenya prepares to host the African Climate Action Summit and Africa Climate Week in September, climate finance remains a hot topic. The discussion will centre on finding a long-term solution for limiting climate funding flows to the region.
A number of novel climate financing tools have the potential of increasing the supply of public and private funding for climate action.
Opportunities in climate funding
Green bonds, resilience bonds, green equity, debt-for-nature swaps, and carbon markets have all been utilized to finance projects in recent years. However, accessing untapped wealth for climate investments requires a diverse set of vehicles.
Additionally, the innovative nature of climate finance supports the idea that integrating development finance, public capital, and private capital can derisk a variety of industries that have significant economic, social, and environmental benefits for communities but low commercial viability and financial rewards.
