By Muhammad Amaan
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has highlighted climate action opportunities in Africa, in its new report on Africa Investment Climate Opportunities.
The third edition of its Africa Investment Report Climate Opportunities was launched at the Africa Impact Summit 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya on Wednesday.
The report outlines private sector opportunities with economic, social and environmental potential for sustainable development in Africa, and presents data and trends on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) investments across the continent.
“Through the UNDP Africa Investment Insights Report, we turn Africa’s climate challenges into investment opportunities for the private sector, as per the continent’s own ambition captured in national NDCs,” Maxwell Gomera, Director of the UNDP Africa Sustainable Finance Hub, said in a statement.
This third edition of the report highlights climate-related investment opportunities using insights from 16 African SDGs Investor Maps.
Partnering with UNDP’s Climate Promise, it shows how the private sector can support African countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
The report emphasises that climate action presents significant opportunities for the private sector, with over half of the identified SDGs investment opportunities in Africa contributing to climate action and NDCs.
Romera said UNDP is calling on investors to participate in “realising opportunities for positive climate action.”
In a related development, widespread attacks against civilians – driven primarily by sub-national armed violence involving community-based militias and civil defense groups — are continuing in South Sudan, the UN Mission in the country, (UNMISS) said in its latest quarterly report.
Between January and March, UNMISS documented 240 incidents of violence impacting 913 civilians nationwide.
Of this number, 468 were killed, 328 injured and 70 abducted, with 47 subjected to conflict related sexual violence. This represents a 24 per cent rise compared to the 194 violent incidents reported during the same period in 2023.
The Mission said inter and intra-communal violence by community-based militias and/or civil defence groups remains the primary source of sub-national violence, accounting for 87 per cent of victims, or 796 persons.
On a positive note, the report also showed a 30 per cent decrease in the number of documented abductions compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 (from 100 to 70).
Similarly, incidents of conflict-related sexual violence decreased by 25 per cent, from 63 to 47.
The Head of UNMISS, Nicholas Haysom, called for collective action by authorities and communities to resolve longstanding grievances peacefully, particularly as South Sudan approaches its first elections, scheduled for December.
“Building a culture of human rights is fundamental to achieving sustainable security, peace, and democracy,” he said.
