Africa Development Bank (AfDB) has said that as a policy, it is supporting clean energy portfolios in Africa, given that as it has an internal greenhouse gas accounting tool that provides the estimated cost of emissions saved or avoided.
The bank made this known in a statement by its Communication and External Relations Department on Wednesday.
The bank said that the Director of Special Duties to the President of AfDB, Maria Mulindi, announced this at a meeting with advocacy groups.
The meeting, which took place at the bank’s Pretoria office, South Africa was between the AfDB and Zero Emissions Omissions Coalition, an advocacy group to ensure clean energy production on the continent and greater transparency on its investments.
AfDB quoted Mulindi saying that a Climate Change Action Plan (2016 – 2020) which provided guidance on the implementation of climate action across all operational areas had already been drawn.
He said that the meetings with advocacy groups were an integral part of the bank’s interaction with civil society, whom they view as key partners.
“The letter received is one of the listening and interaction tools for the bank to engage with civil society – as key stakeholders committed to the creation of an inclusive and sustainable future.
“The group recognised the AfDB’s commitments to addressing climate change and called on the institution to continue efforts to increase access to information to the general public and transparency on other platforms.
“The bank has made significant strides in the areas of climate change mitigation and adaptation and will continue to lead in the accountability and transparency as is evidenced in the Aid Transparency Index,” the bank quoted Mulindi as saying.
It noted that the coalition, which dedicated to mobilising support for climate change consisting of non-governmental bodies and volunteers organised under the African Climate Reality Project, delivered an open letter to the bank’s Pretoria office on as part of an Africa Day-fossil-free future campaign.
The bank quoted from the letter submitted by the group as urging AfDB to pursue its efforts in transparency concerning the disclosure of possible and impending investments and to shift its portfolios to 100 per cent renewable projects and sustainable, low-emission agriculture and infrastructure.
“This sends a strong signal to investors and policymakers to act through finance and policy to decouple growth and development from emissions,” the bank said.
