THE United Kingdom (UK) yesterday announced new funding to support African governments to roll-out critical adaptation projects aimed at-risk communities.
It’s also designed to adapt them to impact of extreme weather and changing climates.
COP26 President Alok Sharma announced the new UK support for the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme (AAAP).
AAAP is an initiative endorsed by the African Union (AU) leaders and led by the African Development Bank (AfBD), Global Centre on Adaptation and the Africa Adaptation Initiative to back African-led plans to accelerate resilience-building across Africa.
Yesterday’s announcements came on the second day of COP26, the two-week UN Climate Change Conference, where world leaders are meeting with the aim to agree how to tackle the urgent threat of global climate change.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also announced the UK is offering an ambitious new guarantee mechanism – the ‘Room to Run’ guarantee – to the AfDB.
This is expected to unlock up to £1.45 billion ($2 billion) worth of new financing for projects across the continent, half of which will help countries adapt to the impacts of climate change.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “More finance for African nations to develop and adapt to climate change is important as these countries find themselves on the frontline of impacts. It is a huge investment opportunity.
“By combining our cash with other donors and businesses, and working with partners such as the AfDB to direct funding into green projects, today we are delivering on our commitment to African-led climate adaptation.”
UK Minister for Africa Vicky Ford said: “For communities across Africa, the impact of climate change is being felt right now. From cyclones in Southern Africa to locusts in East Africa, changing weather patterns are already having catastrophic impacts for communities living across the continent, impacting lives and jobs. This is despite African nations being responsible for just 2-3% of global emissions.”
The UK is a long-standing supporter of Africa’s adaptation to climate change, with around half of the UK’s £2.7 billion ($3.7 billion) adaptation budget between 2016 and 2020 spent in Africa.
Speaking also, the UK’S Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Ben Llewellyn-Jones, said: “Africa is already bearing the brunt of climate impacts as a consequence of dangerous climate chance. The need to scale up adaptation finance to protect the people and economies from the impact of climate change is clear.”