Swazi Observer

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COMESA, AUC TRAIN MEMBER STATES ON GREEN CLIMATE FINANCING

By Qondile Ntiwane | 2019-08-01

The COMESA Secretariat, in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Regional Service Centre for Africa will hold a training workshop for Member States on Green/Climate Financing.

The two-day training, also co-hosted by the government of Republic of Zimbabwe, will be held in Harare, Zimbabwe starting today.

According to a statement released by COMESA yesterday, the training aims to strengthen African Union (AU) Member States’ capacities to access, manage and deliver national and international climate finance more effectively, including awareness on the benefits of private sector engagement in climate actions all in support of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) implementation.

The mobilisation of resources will benefit low carbon development, including resilient infrastructure. Experts responsible for resource mobilisation to finance climate change/sustainable related projects will also be in attendance.

It was stated that the participants would be drawn from ministries responsible for finance and National Development Planning, National Designated Authorities for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) focal persons from the AU Member States. Representatives from the private sector, as well as experts responsible for climate change from Regional Economic Communities (RECs) will also attend. Other participants will include representatives of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), the Commonwealth Secretariat (COMSEC) and the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe.

threat

Climate change is an existential threat that is evidently affecting the African continent on a daily basis. Most African countries are witnessing an increase in extreme weather patterns that are linked to disasters resulting in serious humanitarian challenges. Apart from the loss of lives and property, climate-related disasters are reversing development gains and undermining the continent’s efforts to attain the aspirations of Agenda 2063 and the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

“The continent’s low adaptive capacity makes it more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Filling this gap requires support in the areas of technology, capacity development, skills and finance,” said Dr Mclay Kanyangarara, the COMESA Climate Change Advisor.

“There is not enough knowledge about what constitutes climate and green finance, and options for investments in climate change related portfolios and green sectors. In addition there is also need to increase awareness on the benefits of private sector engagement in climate actions,” added Harsen Nyambe Nyambe, Head of Environment, Climate Change, Water and Land Management at the AUC.

During the workshop, technical experts will present an overview of green/climate finance, NDC financing and the role of the private sector in climate financing. Participants will also be taken through the main avenues to accessing finance for climate action, with a focus on identifying good practices derived from national and international experience. Basically, the training will emphasis on how Africa can improve mobilisation of climate/green finance for sustainable development. Some of the complexities include challenges associated with making bankable adaptation project proposals, cumbersome application processes and procedures, demanding fiduciary requirements, and limited information about existing resources.

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