#AfDBAM2024:Climate Action Window launches second call for mitigation project proposals in 37 low-income African countries

By Isaac OGANGA

The African Development Fund has launched the second call for proposals through its  Climate Action Window (CAW) on the sidelines of the 59th Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank Group currently underway in Nairobi.

The window was created during the 16th replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF-16) to support 37 low-income and vulnerable African countries in accelerating and scaling up access to climate finance for actions addressing the impacts and shocks of climate change.

Speaking on Monday 27 May during a special session of donors to the CAW, African Development Bank Vice-President for Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth Kevin Kariuki said the second call would focus on climate mitigation projects aimed at reducing or avoiding greenhouse gas emissions. The goal is to promote approaches that support achieving net-zero emissions.

Kariuki spoke of the effects of climate change across the continent – floods in Kenya and Tanzania earlier this month, cyclone Freddy’s devastating impact in South Africa last year and current droughts in the southern Africa region.

Africa’s massive climate financing needs – currently standing at around $277 billion – can only be met with innovative tools. These include guarantee mechanisms, issuance of sustainable hybrid bonds, and the Bank’s Climate Action Window, which seeks to mobilize $4 billion during the current ADF-16 cycle, Kariuki added.

He announced the Board of Governors approval of $13.3 million from its net income for the Climate Action Window.

Kariuki also thanked the founding donor countries – Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom – for “believing in our dream” on behalf of ADF countries.

The first call for proposals for the CAW saw 359 eligible projects worth $4 billion dollars highlighting the extent of the adaptation needs, Kariuki said. The projects cover all ADF countries through 31 national and 10 multinational projects.

African Development Bank Group Director Anthony Nyong said the projects – “the largest pipeline of adaptation projects on the continent” spanned various sectors, including agriculture, water security, early warning and climate information systems, green finance, and resilient infrastructure.

The Bank has made a commitment to allocate at least 40 percent of its annual investments amounting to $25 billion to climate finance during the period 2020-25 and is on target to meet this if current lending continues. In 2023 it committed $5.85 billion in 2023 as climate finance, Kariuki said. The Bank’s “triple A” of climate finance – availability, access and affordability, would guide the Bank’s efforts.

The ADF opened the CAW to support the climate financing needs of low-income countries with an initial financing of $429 million. The fund is expected to grow to $14 billion.

The second call is open to government entities, ministries, departments, agencies, departments of the African Development Bank, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations and inter-governmental organizations (including United Nations organizations, regional economic communities, regional river basin climate centers).

Submission deadline: 8 July 2024 (11:59 GMT).

The CAW is allocating approximately $64 million for this call for mitigation proposals. Financing will take the form of grants. Funding requests for a single project or program may range from $3-5 million. The independent evaluation committee may recommend granting   financing beyond or below these limits in exceptional cases.