APA – Dakar (Senegal) – The African Development Bank (AfDB) hopes to provide “analyses and policy recommendations to strengthen the active participation of African countries” at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28).
From 30 November to 12 December 2023, Dubai, the megalopolis of the United Arab Emirates, will host the world’s largest meeting on climate change. In the run-up to the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28), the African Development Bank (ADB) is launching country-by-country economic reports. The aim is to identify “the financing needs of climate change and green growth in Africa” in order to “mobilise private sector financing” and “guide African decision-makers in their discussions” at COP 28.
These reports, said the financial institution in a statement received by APA on Monday, promote policy dialogue on performance, macroeconomic prospects and provide information on the mobilisation of private sector financing and natural capital to stimulate the continent’s climate resilience and green growth policies. According to Kevin Urama, Chief Economist and AfDB Group Vice President in charge of Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, the studies will help drive “sound, practical and implementable policies” to strengthen private sector financing for climate change and green growth.
“As countries prepare for COP 28, these reports provide each African country with independent, verified analysis and recommendations for evidence-based negotiations at this global discussion on climate finance and green transitions,” said Urama. The thematic country reports, the document added, include several short-, medium- and long-term policies aimed at accelerating the economic growth of African countries and strengthening their resilience to shocks. In addition, they provide governments and potential investors with up-to-date and accurate data to inform their policy and investment decisions.
“With climate change identified as one of the most pressing existential threats to Africa’s inclusive growth and sustainable development, the 2023 reports explore opportunities to leverage private sector and natural capital resources to bridge the climate finance gap which, in turn, will support the transition to inclusive, strong and sustainable green growth,” the AfDB said. According to Ferdinand Bakoup, Acting Director of the African Development Bank Group’s Country Economics Department, these thematic country reports build on the African Economic Outlook 2023 launched last May and the Regional Economic Outlook published in July.
“The detailed country analysis and policy recommendations in the reports will have an impact on policy design and on future projects and programmes in African countries,” Mr. Bakoup said. Through its methodology (continent, region and country), the financial institution is seeking to reduce information imbalances resulting from the generalisation across countries on a highly diversified continent. Regarding the involvement of the private sector, Kevin Urama pointed out that increasing its participation in green growth markets “requires several policy interventions, including strengthening the capacity to develop long-term green growth strategies.”
For the Chief Economist and AfDB Group Vice President in charge of Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, this includes the development of appropriate regulations and incentives, support for project preparation and development, and the development of more robust capital markets to facilitate the entry and exit of domestic and international investors. But also “greater use of blended finance, the use of large-scale facilities to reduce risk, and the development of platforms that allow the private sector to invest in a portfolio of green projects, rather than in individual projects, in order to diversify and manage risk.”
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