The Board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved funding for three proposals from the African Development Bank (AfDB) totalling more than US$110mn
The approvals were granted at the GCF’s 21st Board Meeting held from17-20 October 2018 in Manama, Bahrain.
The Board approved US$67.8mn for the Programme for Integrated Development and Adaptation to Climate Change in the Niger Basin (PIDACC/NB), which will benefit from GCF funds comprising US$57.8mn grant and a US$10mn concessional loan.
The programme is further resourced by co-financing from the Bank, the European Union, the Global Environmental Facility, the Forestry Investment Programme of the Climate Investment Funds, and the beneficiary countries, for an estimated US$147mn. This brings the total programme resources to US$214.8mn.
PIDACC will help preserve basin ecosystems and biodiversity, particularly by reducing the Niger River silting process, improving the adaptability of populations to climate change and strengthening the resilience of production systems for four million direct beneficiaries and 10mn indirect beneficiaries in the nine Niger Basin countries. It will also contribute to reducing about seven million tCO2eq emissions over the project lifespan.
The “multi-national approach to climate change adaptation by PIDACC offers an opportunity for the African Development Bank-GCF partnership to promote low-emission, climate-resilient agriculture in the nine Niger basin countries,” said Martin Fregene, Director, Department of Agriculture and Agro-Industry at the Bank.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Green Mini-Grid also received approval for a US$20mn senior loan and US$1mn grant. The Bank will match the approved amounts and instruments, resulting in a total of US$40mn senior loan and US$2mn grant. The loan will finance three pilot solar PV plants and battery storage -with the shortfall financed by project sponsors’ equity and quasi-equity- and the grant will finance complementary technical assistance to ensure that green mini-grids are scaled-up across the country beyond the pilot phase.
The mini-grids will provide access to clean, reliable and more affordable energy to approximately 150,000 people who live off-grid. This will contribute to reducing emissions of 560,000 tCO2eq over the 20-year lifespan of the project.
The third project, the Yeleen Rural Electrification Project in Burkina Faso valued at about US$62mn, received approval for US$28.3mn, with co-financing from the Bank, EU and private sector sponsors to cover the rest of the project costs.
The project will provide electricity access to 335,000 people with an estimated annual consumption of 15 GWh, and create between 200 and 700 permanent jobs in the mini-grid market. It will also contribute to an estimated reduction in GHG emissions of about 390,000 tCO2eq over the 25-year lifespan of the project.
