The African Development Bank and the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute (KEITTI) have signed a joint technical assistance agreement to enable the scale up of investment in low-carbon and climate-resilient technologies. This will ultimately support climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts in many African countries.

The two parties signed the pact on14 September, on the sidelines of the 7th Korea-Africa Ministerial Conference on Economic Cooperation, held in Korea's second largest city, Busan.

Through this partnership, Korea will share technology, experience, and knowledge with the bank’s African member countries. Korea will assist these countries to identify and develop eco-friendly projects.

African Development Bank Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth, Dr. Kevin Kariuki, who signed the agreement, said the Bank and KEITI were glad to enter the agreement, which would deploy climate change technologies to many African countries.

He said the priority areas within the agreement were in line with the 2023 KOAFEC Ministerial Conference, which focused on agriculture and energy.

“The transformation of these sectors to ensure energy and food security is crucial for Africa's sustainable development and requires significant investment in technology development, increased financial flows and strategic partnerships,” Kariuki said.

Africa is home to nine of the 10 most climate-vulnerable countries in the world. While it accounts for only 4% of global carbon emissions, Africa remains the most vulnerable continent to the adverse effects of climate change.

Recently, the African Development Bank's African Economic Outlook 2022 estimated that climate change threatens to undermine Africa's economic performance, reducing GDP by up to 15% by 2050.

Vice President of the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute, Dr Lee Woo-Weon welcomed the cooperation with the African Development Bank on projects through joint technical assistance.

"KEITI will support project preparation for environmental projects in water, energy, climate change, circular economy and environment," Dr. Woo-Weon said.

The African Development Bank is spearheading efforts to support climate-resilient and low-carbon development in Africa. The Bank is doing this through investments that support the achievement of the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The Bank's Climate Action Window will mobilise $13 billion to scale up and support transformative climate action programmes in Africa.

Kariuki added: "The African Development Bank will mobilise our full arsenal of instruments to provide technical assistance, project preparation support, concessional finance and risk mitigation to address the challenges of climate change and ensure a just energy transition.”

He called on global partners to work with the African Development Bank to support transformative climate change adaptation and mitigation actions in Africa.