17 September 2012: The African Development Bank (AfDB) has published the July-August issue of its Climate Finance Newsletter, which spotlights efforts to facilitate green growth in Northern Africa, noting that such investments will build sustainable infrastructure, enhance livelihood resilience to withstand climatic shocks and manage natural resources.

The newsletter reports on grants facilitating African green growth projects. The article “AfDB Approves US $800 Million in Loans to Advance Morocco’s Wind and Solar Ambitions,” describes AfDB investments in Morocco’s growing solar and wind markets, including financial and technical support for a concentrated solar power (CSP) plant that is expected to be the largest in the world with an anticipated capacity of 500MW.

Another article highlights a Nigerian water mobilization project that received approval from the Climate Investment Fund (CIF), backed by AfDB. This project aims to improve water management, increase resilience to climate change, boost food production and improve local livelihoods by implementing water management measures such as erosion control, irrigation schemes and mini dams, wells and boreholes. The project will also introduce climate-resilient seeds and farming techniques.

The newsletter also features articles on: a grant to finance the conceptualization of a Green Tech Financial Facility by the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), which will provide a mechanism for private-sector investments in green technology projects; a joint AfDB and World Bank Group (WBG) workshop on lessons learned from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) CSP project that aims to triple CSP capacity; an AfDB and Global Environment Facility (GEF) training programme on the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) held in Tunisia; AfDB participation in the first UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) workshop on long-term finance on climate change; and the preparation of a green growth policy toolkit for the Group of 20 (G20) Meeting.

In a section titled “AfDB at Rio+20,” the newsletter provides an overview of AfDB’s participation in panels and side-events at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), including events on: accelerating green growth in Africa; financing Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL); and investing in Africa’s natural capital. A related article describes the launch of Mozambique’s Green Economy Roadmap at Rio+20. [Publication: African Development Bank Climate Finance Newsletter, number 16]