Climate Finance Needs Innovation To Close Funding Gaps

With climate change accelerating and climate-linked disasters increasing, countries around the world are racing to build resilient infrastructure. However, African countries, already facing debt crises, are only able to attract a fraction of the financing they require.

Speakers at a roundtable discussion on the sidelines of the ECA's COM2025 said that Africa could utilise some innovative funding instruments to access the required investments.

Joseph Intsiful, Senior Climate Information and Early Warning Systems Specialist at the Green Climate Fund, said green bonds and sustainability-linked bonds are gaining traction as viable instruments to drive climate investment.

Ntsiful pointed to successful examples across the continent, such as South Africa's first sovereign green bond launched in 2023. "The government used 200 million in green bonds to finance renewable energy and climate-resilient projects," he noted.

Similarly, Morocco's green bond initiative has bolstered the Noor Ouarzazate solar complex, one of the largest in the world.