Members of the Green Climate Fund (GFC) approved the first AfDB funding proposal for Zambia’s renewable energy program. The GCF decided to provide a $50-million loan in addition to a $2.5 million grant.
Zambia plans to finance 100 MW of renewable energy projects as part of its Renewable Energy Feed-in-Tariff (REFiT) policy. The solar energy projects will, for the most part, help diversify Zambia’s energy production, which is now highly dependent on hydropower. In response to a serious shortage of electricity supply due to recent droughts, the Government of the Republic of Zambia launched the REFiT policy in 2017 to attract private investment in small-scale renewable energy projects – until ‘to 20 MW.
This is the first program co-funded by the GCF and the African Development Bank, following the signature, on November 8, 2017, of the Framework Agreement on Accreditation, which dedicated the Bank as prime contractor and financial intermediary. projects approved by the GCF.
"These are the first important fruits of our shared commitment to development and growth in Africa, in line with the Paris Agreement. We look forward to increasing our involvement in the Green Climate Fund to help increase Africa’s share of climate finance,” said Akinwumi Adesina, president of the AfDB.
The Bank places mitigation and adaptation to climate change, as well as the electrification of Africa at the heart of its agenda. Its second Climate Change Action Plan, which covers the years 2016 to 2020, forecasts that 40% of the Bank’s annual approvals will come from climate finance by 2020 and its New Deal for Energy in Africa. aims to provide universal access to energy by 2025.
"This innovative project is an important and timely step in our partnership with the GCF. Not only does this pave the way for providing clean and sustainable energy to some 300,000 people, diversifying Zambia’s energy mix; but the country will also become more resilient to the effects of climate change,” said Amadou Hott, Vice President of the African Development Bank for Energy, Climate and Green Growth.
Launched in 2010 by the 194 signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the GCF is a global fund created to support the efforts of developing countries facing the challenges of climate change.