In speeches marking the virtual launch of GCA Africa, the leaders said the
Center could also provide an impetus for a more resilient recovery after
COVID-19, which they said had compounded climate-induced vulnerabilities.
“In the post-COVID period, our objective should not only be to recover and
build better but to do so in a climate-conscious way,” said Ethiopian President
Sahle-Work Zewde.
“There is no (more) stark reminder of the need for us to take urgent action
than the devastating impact of climate change that we are witnessing now. We
have no other option but to mobilize ourselves more than ever before to
safeguard the planet. Time is not on our side,” Zewde noted.
Hosted by the African Development Bank at its headquarters in the Ivorian
commercial capital, Abidjan, GCA Africa will work with partners across the
continent to accelerate adaptation action that protects African communities
from climate change.
Several regional and global leaders attended the high-level launch. Key
speakers included the 8th UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, co-chair
of the Global Center on Adaptation, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo; Kenyan
President Uhuru Kenyatta, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, Akinwumi
Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group and Patrick
Verkooijen, CEO of GCA.
There were also speeches by representatives from the African Union Commission,
Dutch businessman and co-chair of the GCA Feike Sijbesma, United Nations Deputy
Secretary General Amina Mohammed, Gabonese President Ali Bongo, who is also
chairperson of the African Adaptation Initiative, Dag-Inge Ulstein, Minister of
International Development for Norway, and Peter Eriksson, Minister for
International Development Cooperation for Sweden.
Welcoming the opening of GCA Africa, President Akufo-Addo expressed the hope
that it will work to scale up the “bright spots” of adaptation on the
continent, including Ghana, where development partners have kicked off a
project to enhance the resilience of national infrastructure systems against
threats of climate change.
“We look forward to working with GCA and its partners to meet the challenges of
climate change and ensuring resilience is built into Africa’s economic recovery
plans.”
President Kenyatta noted that the climate change challenge is no longer a
projected crisis. “It’s indeed a reality that we need to control urgently,” he
said, citing the incidence of El-Nino-triggered floods and droughts in parts of
East Africa, which has also been hit by a locust invasion.
He commended the partnership between the Bank and the African Adaptation
Initiative under the GCA. “I am optimistic that through this partnership Kenya
and other African counties will attract more financing and other resources that
we need to implement our various national adaptation plans.”
Opening the regional office, Adesina said the occasion marked a major milestone
in the Bank’s drive to build climate resilience for Africa. Adesina, who began
his second five-year term as Bank President this month, said one of his key
priorities over the next five years is for the Bank to drive investments in
green growth and climate finance for Africa.
“As a Bank, we are committed to helping Africa build back from the COVID-19
crisis, better, stronger and with greater health and climate resilience,” he
said, adding that the Bank’s financing for climate had quadrupled, from 9% of
its total portfolio in 2016 to 36% by 2019. “By the end of 2021, we will reach
our target of 40% of the total portfolio.”
Also, the Bank has committed to providing $25 billion in climate financing by
2025, Adesina stated.
The GCA Africa programs include improving the food security of one billion
people in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030 through a program on rural well-being and
food security, as well as projects to support communities through water for
urban growth and resilience; using nature for more resilient infrastructure;
adaptation finance and building youth leadership.
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