(Ecofin Agency) - The agreement is a major step in the implementation of the programs announced by the UK during COP26 Glasgow in late 2021. 

UK Minister for Africa Vicky Ford and AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina signed, Wednesday (May 25), a “Room to Run” agreement to fund up to US$2 billion in climate projects in Africa. The agreement was signed in Accra, Ghana, on the sidelines of the AfDB annual meetings being held in the country since Monday, May 23, 2022.  

The guarantee agreement is one of the commitments made by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, during the COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, last year. It will help the AfDB raise additional funds and devote half of them to climate adaptation projects. Currently, the development bank devotes 67% of its climate financing to adaptation projects. So, it claims to be the world-leading financier of climate adaptation projects.  

During the previous COP26 summits, western countries made numerous promises but they failed to fulfill most of them. By signing the guarantee agreement, the UK is taking a major step in its climate financing program. Indeed, during COP26 Glasgow, the partner country announced a set of programs to support climate adaptation and resilience in Africa. Those programs include a five-year plan to respond to climate shocks in the Sahel region and the expansion of the Africa Regional Insurance Scheme to cover US$1 billion of drought, flood and storm risks yearly, starting in 2025/2026.

In his opening speech last Monday, President Adesina invited developed countries to keep up to their promise to provide US$100 yearly for climate projects in developing countries. 

Africa “does not receive enough funding to cover its needs,” it  “receives only 3% of global climate funding,” he said. 

Fiacre E. Kakpo