Benin: Climate Adaptation Efforts Necessary for Sustainable and Resilient Growth
According to the second edition of the Benin Economic Update Report, achieving sustainable and resilient economic growth in the coming decades will depend on efforts to adapt and finance climate investments.
Titled Adapting to Climate Change for Sustainable, Resilient Economic Growth, the first part of the report analyzes recent economic developments and presents the country's medium-term outlook. It projects that annual growth will stabilize at an average of 6.2% between 2024 and 2026 (3.5% on average per capita), driven by investment and the expansion of the Glo-Djigbe industrial zone (GDIZ). The end of the gasoline subsidy in Nigeria in May 2023, supply chain bottlenecks following the closure of the border with Niger, and growing demand pressures have led to an increase in inflation to 2.8% in 2023, below the regional average of 3.7% in 2023.
Tanzania’s greener future: Reducing methane in waste and livestock sectors
Tanzania is embarking on a journey to address methane emissions, through collaborative efforts aimed at enhancing urban resilience and tackling climate change. Tanzania will be one of 15 countries to be included in a global methane initiative spearheaded by the World Bank, that aims to reduce emissions of this potent greenhouse gas. As part of the World Bank Climate Action Plan, reducing methane emissions was identified as a cost-effective way to reduce the rise in global temperatures and its impacts.
World Bank Approves Agreement to Cut Carbon Emissions in Zambia's Eastern Province
Communities in Zambia’s Eastern Province are set to reap the benefits of their efforts in forest conservation, climate-smart agriculture, and other activities such as fuel efficient cookstoves and sustainable charcoal production thanks to a new Emission Reductions Purchase Agreement (ERPA) approved today by the the World Bank and it’s BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL)*.
Ghanaian and Senegalese entrepreneurs to benefit from African Development Bank YEI MDTF grant for green jobs in natural resources
The African Development Bank, through its Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund (YEI MDTF), has approved a $999,000 grant to support an initiative to foster green jobs for women, youth and people with disabilities.
The Strengthening Women, Youth and People with Disabilities’ Micro-Entrepreneurship for Green Jobs in Natural Resources (MicroGREEN) project aims to foster inclusive economic growth by providing up to 500 green job opportunities and business development services to marginalized groups in Ghana and Senegal.
African Development Bank rapidly exceeding climate finance targets
African Development Bank Group President Akinwumi Adesina called for more urgent action as climate change continues to wreak havoc in many African countries.
He was speaking at a high-level roundtable on climate finance convened during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings by UK Deputy Foreign Minister and Minister of State for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, and the German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Svenja Schulze, Adesina said the ongoing devastating drought in several parts of Africa underscored the need for all stakeholders to come together to accelerate support and financing for Africa.
Mauritania: Over $289 million in financing to develop solar power generation and transmission and accelerate energy transition
Mauritania's Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Abdessalam Mohamed Saleh, and the African Development Bank's Deputy Managing Director for North Africa, Malinne Blomberg, signed, on Thursday in Nouakchott, financing agreements for two energy sector projects in Mauritania worth a total of US$289.5 million, covering solar power generation, transnational electricity interconnection and rural electrification.
African Development Bank Group and research centres to transform African agriculture and improve food security
The African Development Bank Group and the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centres (CGIAR) committed on January 25, 2024, to strengthen their collaboration to increase food production and provide better nutrition for Africa's growing population.
With 65% of global uncultivated arable land, the African Development Bank believes that the continent can feed itself and the rest of the world.
COP28: African countries sign on to join pioneering global battery energy storage consortium
Several African countries have formally expressed interest to join the groundbreaking Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Consortium, launched Saturday during COP28, which could revolutionise Africa’s energy landscape by developing advanced energy storage solutions through collaboration and innovation.
Joining the BESS Consortium, a multistakeholder partnership initiative of the Global Leadership Council, commits members to participate in efforts to reach energy storage commitments of 5 GW through the end of 2024. This will in turn provide a roadmap to ultimately achieving 400 GW of renewable energy by 2030.
African Development Bank approves Desert to Power RIMDIR Mini Grid Electrification Project in Mauritania
The African Development Bank Group on 2 November 2023, approved a contribution of EUR 14.42 million towards the RIMDIR Mini Grid Electrification Project in Mauritania as part of the Desert to Power Initiative.
The grant from the Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) aims to facilitate the electrification of 40 local communities by establishing seven mini-grids in the South East region of Mauritania (Hodh El Gharbi and Hodh Echargui). Additionally, the funds will be allocated to income generating activities.
By complementing the interventions of the French Development Agency and the World Bank in the RIMDIR project, the African Development Bank and the SEFA fund underscore their commitment to fostering private sector engagement in rural electrification, a model the Bank seeks to replicate, drawing from the extensive expertise gained from other successful projects in the region.
COP28 - Africa Day: African leaders emphasize need for significantly increased climate action and green growth financing
Amplify the voice of African countries globally and provide a space and platform to highlight the continent's challenges, opportunities and responses -- this was the focus of Africa Day on 2 December 2023.
The day opened with a high-level session at which several African leaders called for "increasing climate finance and green growth in Africa", the theme of the event.