19 October 2012
AfDB Publishes First CIF Report
story highlights

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has released “Climate Investment Funds (CIF) in Action,” which features stories and statistics on projects and investment plans in 15 African countries and the Middle East and North African region (MENA).

These projects and investments promote clean technology, climate-resilient development, increased energy access through renewable energy, and sustainable forest management.

AfDB18 October 2012: The African Development Bank (AfDB) has released its first semi-annual report on the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) in Africa, titled “CIF in Action.” The report highlights projects and investment plans in 15 African countries and the Middle East and North African region (MENA) that aim to support transformations in clean technology, climate-resilient development, increased energy access through renewable energy and sustainable management of forests.

The report features lessons learned from pilot country meetings and workshops on climate smart technologies, institutions and policies. Highlighted achievements include, inter alia: financial support for a concentrated solar project (CSP) and an integrated wind and hydro programme in Morocco and a geothermal project in Kenya; investment plan approvals for the Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Program (SPREP) in Ethiopia, Kenya and Mali; and allocations to Nigeria to implement its Clean Technology Fund (CTF) investment plan. The report also discusses preparations for forest investment programs (FIP) in Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, describes pilot climate resilience programmes in Mozambique, Niger and Zambia and stresses private sector engagement.

The report spotlights the “Dedicated Grant Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities,” which seeks to build the capacity of forest-dependent indigenous peoples and local communities to design and implement activities to address deforestation and forest degradation in the context of REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries). Expected activities include: building and strengthening alliances and networks; community-based monitoring, evaluation and reporting; and small grants to integrate indigenous knowledge with technologies for adaptation and mitigation, monitoring and learning, and technical assistance.

The CIF provides developing countries with concessional loans, equity, grants, and risk mitigation instruments to leverage financing from multilateral banks (MDBs), the private sector and other sectors. The AfDB is one of five implementing agencies for the CIF concessional funds and expects to channel approximately US $900 million in CIF financing to Africa. This report is a publication of AfDB’s Energy, Environment and Climate Change Department (ONEC) and covers the period from January to June 2012. [AfDB Press Release] [Publication: CIF in Action Nº1]

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