IEA, AfDB to Launch Joint Report on Financing Clean Energy in Africa at Nairobi Climate Summit
CSOs demand repayment of climate debt
The International Energy Agency and the African Development Bank Group will launch the pioneering Joint Report on Financing Clean Energy in Africa today, 6 September on the sidelines of the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi. Kenya’s President William Ruto is expected to give a welcome address. Dr Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, and Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, will launch the report.
Meanwhile, over 500 African civil society organisations have issued seven demands on their governments and wealthy nations as the African Climate Summit kicks off.
“The African People are demanding justice, decolonisation of the continent’s economic systems and repayment of climate debt,” the CSOs said in a statement.
The Joint Report on Financing Clean Energy in Africa aims to inspire capital providers, multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, philanthropies and governments to amplify and replicate successful clean energy projects across the continent. This collective action will deliver a multiplier effect and support a cycle of change in the financing landscape, contributing to achievement of universal energy access (SDGD7) in Africa.
According to the statement, “The report draws on African Development Bank case studies from across the continent to highlight viable solutions that contribute to scaling up energy investment and to achievement of universal access to modern energy, as well as climate-related and sustainable development goals.”
Representatives of development partners, capital providers and project developers will present key findings of the report during an interactive panel discussion following the launch.
This year’s Africa Climate Week (ACW 2023) is set to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 4-6 September 2023. It will be organised alongside the Africa Climate Action Summit. Both events will be hosted by the Government of Kenya. ACW 2023 coincides with the African Climate Action Summit. Its purpose is to engage with various stakeholders and empower them to promote climate action across different nations, communities, and economies.
The African Development Bank is a founding member of the Nairobi Framework Partnership (NFP), a regional partner of the Africa Climate Week and annually contributes toward both the side events and the logistics of ACW2023.
The Regional Climate Weeks have been recognised as a platform for governments and stakeholders to strengthen credible and durable response to climate change.
Four Regional Climate Weeks will be held this year to build momentum ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai and the conclusion of the first global stocktake, designed to chart the way for fulfilling the Paris Agreement’s key goals.
The People’s Climate Summit Unveils Urgent Demands for Justice, Decolonisation, and Survival for 900 million Africans
More than 500 African civil society organisations have issued seven hard-hitting demands on their governments and wealthy nations as the African Climate Summit kicks off in Nairobi, Kenya, next week.
In their seven-point demand, the CSOs stated that “The African People are demanding for justice, decolonisation of the continent’s economic systems and repayment of climate debt. They are also demanding an end to energy capture, an immediate stop to fossil fuel projects and rejection of false solutions in a move that is set to put the plight of over 900 million people in the global spotlight.” The seven demands highlighted include: Decolonise the Economy and Development; Repay Climate Debt and Deliver the Money; No False Solutions; Build Global Solidarity, Peace & Justice; No new fossil fuels; New commitments for international cooperation; End Energy Agency Capture, and Energy System Capture.
The group said, “To raise awareness on the challenges Africa is facing with climate change, The Real Africa People’s Climate Summit has organised a march on 4th September 2023 in Nairobi which brings together diverse stakeholders from various struggles and movements across Africa.”
Speaking on behalf of the Real Africa People’s Climate Summit, Hardi Yakubu, from Africans Rising stated that Africans were tired of leaders and governments paying endless lip service to Africa on the impact of climate change on its people.
“We demand for a decolonisation of Africa’s economy and development agenda, a repayment of climate debt and delivery of much-needed money to Africa for Climate Adaptation and losses and damages, as well as real solutions to this gripping problem the continent faces,” Yakubu said.
Statistics show that Africa has been thrust into a never-ending cycle of poverty, hunger, undue exposure to climate-induced disasters, and ever-dwindling investment in adaptation and mitigation measures due to climate change.
“It is a serious indictment on world leaders and corporations that African people continue to disproportionately experience the devastating impacts of climate change for no fault of their own,” said Lorraine Chiponda from the Africa Movements Building Space.
Between 600-900 million people are facing systemic food and water shortages, debilitating poverty, and lack of access to energy or clean energy, forcing them to escape from their homes and migrate from their countries due to climate change.