By Yemi Olakitan
Under its Nature, People, and Climate Investment platform, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) will provide $350 million in finance and other support for environmentally friendly solutions in nine countries.
The Dominican Republic, Egypt, Fiji, Kenya, and the Zambezi River Basin Region, which includes Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, and Tanzania, are the recipient nations. They were made public during the COP27 conference on climate change, which was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
The Nature, People, and Climate initiative implements nature-based solutions that recognise connections between land use, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the enhancement of rural communities’ and Indigenous peoples’ sources of livelihood.
It discusses attempts to empower indigenous people and local communities as well as sustainable agriculture, the provision of food, forests, and resilient coastal systems. The participating nations will next work with a number of partner multilateral development banks to create investment proposals as the next step. Additionally, the platform collaborates with multilateral development banks to scale investment at the systems level as opposed to the project level and to de-risk investment.
According to Mafalda Duarte, CEO of The Funds, the initiative received applications from 55 developing nations in the past few months, emphasising the critical need for climate finance.
“I thank Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Italy for the fantastic relationship. I congratulate these nations. This is just the beginning, and we can’t wait to start rolling. In preparation for receiving additional contributions, we will also assist Ethiopia, Rwanda, Namibia, and Brazil in developing their investment plans, according to Duarte.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Alessandro Modiano, Italy’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, stated: “Climate change and biodiversity loss pose a dual threat to humanity. According to him, the two are a grave result of human activity and economic advancement at the price of nature.
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The announcement was followed by a panel discussion. Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat, Zambian Minister of Green Economy and Environment Collins Nzovu, Dutch Climate Envoy Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme, and Vice President of Agriculture, Human and Social Development of the African Development Bank Beth Dunford were the panellists.
Dunford emphasised the significance of encouraging farmers to use natural remedies.
“Healthy ecosystems that farmers may enhance are necessary for agriculture to thrive. Their ability to adapt and become climate resilient would also be aided by the technology and knowledge provided, the expert claimed.
Minister Al-Mashat expressed her nation’s gratitude to Climate Investment Funds. “We have a list of top priorities for adaptation and mitigation programmes. These funds will aid in the execution of our goals, “She stated.
In order to assist African nations in need of climate funding, organisations and partner nations came together, an initiative that Minister Nzovu praised.
In order for Africa to be self-sufficient as a continent and to cater for its own needs for food and water, “said he. “There is a need for understanding among citizens, as well as among legislators, to comprehend why their nations offer aid to other nations.”
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)(link is external) estimates that for the G20 nations alone, yearly nature spending must rise by an additional $165 billion annually, or by 140% above current levels, in order to achieve biodiversity, land restoration, and climate targets by 2050.
