Barely few months to the 28th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 28), the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has launched new country-by-country economic reports to guide African policymakers in their discussions at the global event.

The Country Focus Reports (CFRs) provide analysis and policy recommendations to strengthen countries’ active participation at COP 28, which takes place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from November 30 to December 12, 2023.

Entitled: “Mobilising Private Sector Finance for Climate and Green Growth in Africa”, the reports foster policy dialogue on macro-economic performance and outlook and provide insights on mobilising private sector and natural capital finance to drive the continent’s climate resilience and green growth policies.

The Chief Economist and Vice President of the African Development Bank Group, Prof Kevin Urama, said: “They would help evoke sound, practical and implementable policies to enhance private sector financing for climate change and green growth.
As countries prepare for COP28, the reports provide each African country with independent, verified analysis and recommendations for evidence-based negotiations during the global conversation on climate finance and green transitions.”

The reports contain several short, medium, and long-term policies to accelerate African countries’ economic growth and build resilience to shocks. They provide governments and potential investors with up-to-date, accurate data to inform policy and investment decisions.

Climate change is identified as one of the most pressing existential threats to Africa’s inclusive growth and sustainable development; this year’s country reports explore opportunities to leverage private sector resources and natural capital to close the climate finance gap. This, in turn, will support the transition to inclusive, strong and sustainable green growth.

Urama noted: “Expanding private sector participation in green growth markets requires several policy interventions, including strengthening the capacity to develop long-term green growth strategies. It will require greater use of blended finance, the use of de-risking facilities at scale, and the development of platforms that allow the private sector to invest in a portfolio of green projects, rather than individual projects, to diversify and manage risk,” Urama said.

He added that this includes the development of appropriate regulations and incentives, supporting project preparation and development, and developing more robust capital markets to support easy entry and exit for domestic and global investors.

The African Development Bank’s Acting Director of Country Economics, Ferdinand Bakoup, said: “The CFRs’ detailed country-level analysis and policy recommendations will impact policy design and future projects and programmes in African countries.”

The document highlights how governments can strengthen macroeconomic performance, outlook and catalyse private sector, as well as natural capital finance to support climate action and green growth initiatives in the country. These include green bonds, debt for climate swaps, green banks, blended finance, carbon markets, and several other innovative financing instruments.