COP28: Global, African Partners Pledge KSh 26bn To Alliance For Green Infrastructure

• The landmark initial pledge will help to rapidly scale up financing for transformative climate-aligned infrastructure projects across Africa
• The new pledges will also advance AGIA towards its first close of KSh 76 billion of early-stage project preparation and development blended capital
• The Alliance is a partnership of the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank, Africa50, and other partners

Dennis Lubanga, a Kenyan journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than 10 years of experience covering politics, news, and feature stories across digital and print media in Kenya.

Dubai - In a powerful signal of support during COP28, African and global institutions, together with the governments of Germany, France, and Japan and philanthropies, have pledged over KSh 26 billion to the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA).

The landmark initial pledge will help to rapidly scale up financing for transformative climate-aligned infrastructure projects across the continent.

The new pledges will also advance AGIA towards its first close of KSh 76 billion of early-stage project preparation and development blended capital.

The Alliance is a partnership of the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank, Africa50, and other partners.

How Africa seeks to transit to net zero

It works to unlock up to KSh 1.5 trillion in private capital for green infrastructure projects and to galvanise global action to accelerate Africa’s just and equitable transition to Net Zero.

Among the signatories of the memorandum of intent were representatives of the African Development Bank, Africa50, France, Germany, Japan, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), the Banque Ouest-Africaine de Development (BOAD), Proparco, and the Three Cairns Group.

The Union of the Comoros President and Chairperson of the African Union, Azali Assoumani, Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina, and African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat witnessed the signing ceremony.

Germany’s Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Svenja Schulze, said:

“Germany is very pleased to join the launch of the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa. We congratulate the African Development Bank on this important Africa-led initiative and want to highlight AGIA’s commitment to the 1.5 °C target and its dedication to accelerate net zero emissions in Africa.”

In her own words, she added:

“Today marks an important step towards our shared goal of a just and equitable green transition in Africa. Supporting the commitment towards green infrastructure, we are planning to contribute up to KSh 4.3 billion to AGIA starting in 2024.”

Tomoyoshi Yahagi, Japan’s Deputy Vice Minister of Finance, said:

“As part of the pledge made by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Japan will provide KSh 1.5 billion to AGIA to support Africa in undergoing a just and equitable transition to Net-Zero and achieving the 1.5 °C pathway. We encourage other donors to contribute to this important initiative.”

Emmanuel Moulin, Director General of the French Treasury, said:

“By addressing the gap in funding for green infrastructure project preparation and development, AGIA will play an instrumental role in Africa’s transition to Net Zero."

What the African Development Bank Group is doing

African Development Bank Group President Akinwumi Adesina, on his part, said:

“We need private sector financing at scale to tackle climate change and fill Africa’s huge infrastructure gap in a sustainable and climate-resilient manner. By working together and pooling our resources together through AGIA, we are committed to accelerating these efforts.”

Sidi Ould Tah, President of BADEA, said they have pledged KSh 6.1 billion to support AGIA.

"We are glad to be part of this vital partnership, aiming at enabling transformational green infrastructure projects in Africa and accelerating the continent’s transition to Net-Zero in a sustainable manner.”

How France is supporting AGIA

Françoise Lombard, CEO of Proparco, said her company, alongside the French government, “is proud to support AGIA, an initiative aiming to unlock Africa’s potential for green infrastructure by targeting one of its main constraints: the lack of existing bankable projects in this area.

"The innovative blended structure of the initiative will allow AGIA to mobilise and channel public and private resources towards project preparation and development, the riskier stages of any infrastructure project. In addition, with AGIA, we are one step closer to bridging the infrastructure gap in Africa and one step further towards Net-Zero.”

Earlier, TUKO.co.ke reported that African leaders, scientists, and professionals wrote an open letter calling on high-income nations attending COP28 to commit to increasing their financial support for Africa's livestock system adaptation to support the continent's fastest-growing population.

More than 50 organisations and people signed the document, which was made public ahead of the COP28 climate summit.

It refers to livestock as a “climate solution with legs” for the 800 million smallholder farmers and herders that it supports throughout sub-Saharan Africa.