The United Arab Emirates, the host of this year’s United Nations climate summit, pledged $4.5 billion to help African nations accelerate clean-energy projects.
Abu Dhabi’s clean-energy producer Masdar, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, Etihad Credit Insurance, the nation’s export credit agency, and AMEA Power, a Dubai-based renewable-energy company, will provide the funds, the COP28 Presidency said in a statement.
Africa may need an almost tenfold increase in climate adaptation funding to $100 billion a year to help it bolster its infrastructure and shield its agriculture from climate change, the Global Center on Adaptation said. While the continent produces only about 4% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions its nations are among those hardest hit by climate change
“The initiative will prioritize investments in countries across Africa with clear transition strategies, enhanced regulatory frameworks and a master plan for developing grid infrastructure,” COP28 President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber, said at the inaugural Africa Climate Summit on Tuesday.
Al Jaber’s announcement to invest in the continent comes months before the UN climate summit that he’s running. The chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., the world’s 12th-largest producer of oil and gas, has been criticized by climate activists. More than 400 environmental groups sent a letter to the UN secretary general saying that Al Jaber’s work “threatens the legitimacy and efficacy” of the summit.
Read more: A Kingdom Built on Oil Now Controls the World’s Climate Progress
African Development Bank’s Africa50 investment platform will act as a strategic partner to help identify initial projects, according to the statement.
Funding details:
- The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development will provide $1 billion of financial assistance.
- The Etihad Credit Insurance will provide $500 million of credit insurance to reduce risk and unlock private capital.
- Masdar is pledging $2 billion of equity, and will mobilize an additional $8 billion in project finance targeted to deliver 10 gigawatts of clean energy capacity in Africa by 2030.
- AMEA Power will help fund 5 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity in the continent by 2030, mobilizing $5 billion, with $1 billion in equity investments, and $4 billion from project finance.