AfDB to provide $12.5bn for Africa adaptation programme

The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, says the bank will provide 12.5 billion dollars to support the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme (AAA-P).

The AfDB president disclosed this via his verified twitter handle @akin_adesina on Wednesday.

The AAA-P is Africa’s own programme, supported by African Heads of State, to mobilise more resources for climate change, to advance the objectives of the African Adaptation Initiative.

The AfDB and the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) are mobilising 25 billion dollars for this programme to which the bank committed 12.5 billion dollars.

Speaking during the recently concluded Africa Climate Adaptation Summit held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Adesina said Africa does not contribute more than three per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions but suffered disproportionately from its negative consequences.

The AAA-P was endorsed at the Leaders’ Dialogue on the Africa COVID19-Climate Emergency in April 2021 which was the largest gathering ever of African Heads of State and Government solely focused on adaptation.

The UK Government announced an important commitment of 20 million pounds to support the upstream work of the AAA-P.

Also, the AAA-P would be implemented through two mechanisms: First, an AAA-P Upstream Financing Facility,

housed at the GCA, to support the evidence-based knowledge, project design and preparation, and policy work needed for the success of AAA-P operations.

Second, an AAA-P Downstream Investment Facility, to be housed at the AfDB,

would be developed under the direct leadership of the president of the bank.

The AAA-P upstream facility at the GCA has helped to generate three billion dollars of mainstream climate adaptation investments by AfDB, from agriculture, to energy, transport, water, and sanitation.