THE UK has agreed to guarantee $2-billion of the debt the African Development Bank has extended to governments on the continent, allowing the lender to free up finance for climate-related projects.
The additional lending capacity will be used to fund projects for climate resilience and renewable energy, Akinwumi Adesina, president of the Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire-based bank, said in interview last week.
“That allows us to transfer some of our own assets, which we have on our sovereign loan books to the private sector,” he said. “It will allow us to free up $2-billion of additional financing headroom for the bank.”
The guarantees are a step toward meeting a financing gap that Africa, the continent worst hit by climate change, needs to meet to finance the strengthening of infrastructure such as roads and bridges. At the same time, its abundant solar and renewable power resources favor the development of greener energy.
African leaders estimate that adapting to climate change — by fortifying coastlines against rising sea levels, combating
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