The Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are joining forces for climate finance in Africa. The two financial institutions have just launched the Green and Resilient Debt Platform, a new mechanism that strengthens the arsenal of climate resilience financing instruments in Africa.
Faced with the climate emergency in Africa, development finance institutions are joining forces for climate financing. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are launching the Green and Resilient Debt Platform. The facility will focus on climate resilience and blue bonds in Africa. The blue bond is a bond issue that works on the same model as green bonds, except that they are about seas and oceans.
According to the GCF, the new platform will provide technical assistance to partner countries, promote a climate-sensitive investment environment, create a portfolio of bankable green investments and strengthen national and regional green debt ecosystems and financial institutions. The platform will also provide access to anchor investments in green bond issues.
The contribution of UNDP and UNCDF
The new platform will contribute to the European Union’s (EU) global green bond initiative, which is based on a governance structure defined by the European Commission and the European development finance institutions. The EIB/GCF initiative will be implemented in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).
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“Emerging and developing economies face specific barriers to green bonds. Their respective markets remain largely underdeveloped and continue to grow at a much slower pace than those in developed countries,” says the GCF.
The United Nations (UN) fund plans to provide funding through its Project Preparation Facility to support the design and establishment of the Green Debt and Resilience Platform. This support will focus on Kenya and Ivory Coast. “The GCF will examine the feasibility and impact of the platform in these countries, playing a unique role in aligning large financial flows with each country’s nationally determined contribution and national adaptation plan,” says the GCF. The platform’s activities will then be extended to other African countries.
Jean Marie Takouleu
