By Asmau Ahmad
The Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) says Africa is facing a critical shortfall in funding climate adaptation.
The Netherlands-based centre engages in policy activities, research, communications, and technical assistance to governments and to the private sector.
Founded on September 18, 2018, it also engages in policy development, research, advocacy, communications, and partnerships.
Its Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Patrick Verkooijen, made the declaration about the state of adaptation in Africa on Friday in a report on the “State and Trends in Adaptation in Africa 2022.”
He stated that cumulative adaptation finance up to 2030 would come to less than one-quarter of the estimated needs stated by African countries in their National Determined Contributions (NDCs).
“The only thing that would guarantee against this was for more funding to be secured for climate adaptation,” he added.
“In 2019 and 2020 an estimated 11.4 billion dollars was committed to climate adaptation finance in Africa. More than 97 per cent of the funds came from public actors and less than 3 per cent from the private sectors.
“This is significantly less than the estimated 52.7 billion dollars African countries will need up to 2030,” he said.
The report made some recommendations to increase the volume and efficacy of adaptation finance flows to Africa over the coming decade.
“Financial institutions must mainstream resilience into investments that they are making. Policy makers and other stakeholders must build the enabling environment for adaptation investments.
“Financial innovation for adaptation must match country level policy and market conditions,” he added.
Verkooyen said that adaptation finance was scaling too slowly to close the investment gap in Africa, even as the costs of inaction rose.
“As we look forward to COP27, we must generate a breakthrough on finance for climate adaptation,” he stressed.
COP27 is the UN climate change conference to be held Nov. 6 to Nov. 18 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
“AU’s Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme is the best vehicle we have to ensure the adaptation investment shortfall in Africa is met with action from all available sources including the private sector,” Verkooyen stated.
Also speaking during the launch of the report, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Hajiya Amina Mohammed said COP27 must be a turning point.
“Developed countries must put forward credible plans to double adaptation finance to reach 40 billion dollars a year by 2025. “The Secretary-General has called for a new business model to deliver adaptation finance by turning adaptation priorities into pipelines of investment for projects,” she said.
In his remarks, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina said the GCA was doing incredible work in mapping out needs and how to make climate resilient infrastructure.
“Already the upstream financing facility at the GCA is doing so much analytical work to support countries to build climate resilience into infrastructure.
“It is also working around agriculture and to mainstream climate financing into national institutions but also into the financing of large multilateral development banks,” he said.
