The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved the ‘Africa Thriving and Resilient: The Bank Group’s Second Climate Change Action Plan, 2016-2020’ (CCAP2).
“The approval of this document is propitious as it echoes the ongoing discussions at Conference of the Parties (COP) 23 in Bonn, Germany, to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change and achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping global temperature rises to 1.5 ºC,” AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina said in a statement.
The African continent is a minor contributor to global warming but is highly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change that threatens its economic development.
However, the continent also has enormous opportunity to build resilience to climate change and to transition towards low-carbon development.
The commitment of the African continent to contribute to global solutions to climate change is demonstrated by the fact that all 54 countries have submitted their ‘Intended National Determined Contribution’ under the Paris Agreement, and 43 of these countries have ratified the agreement.
The strategic vision of CCAP2 is to ensure low-carbon and climate-resilient development in Africa.
It has four pillars, namely mitigation, adaptation, climate finance and a cross-cutting pillar that addresses technology transfer, capacity development, institutional reforms, as well as other cross-cutting activities that will create an enabling environment for its successful implementation.
“Over the next four years, the AfDB hopes to achieve the objectives set out in the CCAP2, to help our member countries to be developed and resilient, while keeping Africa a low-emitting continent,” he said.