World Bank and AfDB commit $47 billion to finance African climate control projects

• 5 years ago (2019-03-15)
• David Flin

Africa 306 Renewables 757 Solar 249

---

The World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have announced that they will commit over $47 billion by 2025 to help African countries tackle the effects of climate change.

The World Bank said in a statement that it had pledged $22.5 billion for 2021-2025, while AfDB said that it had pledged $25 billion to climate finance between 2020 and 2025. AfDB said that the funds would be used to increase investment in renewable energy projects like solar power plants.

Akinwumi Adesina, President of the AfDB, said: “The share of our portfolio that was in renewable energy generation between 2013 and 2015 was 59 per cent. From 2015 to 2018, we moved that to 95 per cent.”

The World Bank said some of the beneficiaries of its funding would include projects in Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Kenya.

Many countries on the continent, especially those on the coast, are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels and coral reef deterioration. Others are vulnerable to more frequent droughts, desertification, and floods.