AfDB to de-risk climate investments in Africa to boost green growth

NAIROBI, June 28 (Xinhua) -- The African Development Bank (AfDB) said Tuesday it will de-risk climate investments in Africa to boost green growth in Africa.

Davinah Milenge-Uwella, the principal program coordinator for Climate Change and Green Growth Department of the AfDB, told a forum in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the pan-African bank will deploy various instruments such as credit guarantees, loans, and technical assistance to expand flows of green finance.

"Our aim is to encourage and incentivize the private sector to move into high-risk frontiers and technologies that protect the environment," Milenge-Uwella told the 48th Africa Insurance Organization Conference.

Milenge-Uwella observed that urgent action is required to promote green investments because climate change is an existential threat to life and livelihoods on the planet.

"Nowhere is this more apparent than in Sub-Saharan Africa, where countries will face some of the largest global exposure while having the minimal capacity to respond," she said.

The pan-African lender is keen to decouple economic growth in the continent with carbon emissions.

"We don't want a polluted continent. We want a clean environment for the benefit of future generations," Milenge-Uwella stressed.

According to AfDB, the deployment of climate investments has numerous advantages because it accelerates economic growth in the long run.

"Green growth ensures economic development within climate boundaries which protects nature's assets, biodiversity, and ecosystems," she added.