Campaign: COP27

10 key takeaways from COP27 on nature’s critical role

Posted on by TIMOTHYRADIER
  • COP27 may be over but its impact will be felt for many decades to come.
  • Discussions highlighted nature’s pivotal role in tackling the climate crisis.
  • Here we reflect on 10 areas where progress is being made on climate action.

The implications of COP27 will likely be felt for decades to come, for better or worse. While a broad range of analysis has already been published on the ultimate outcomes of COP27, this summary includes reflections on how nature was the stand out topic at COP27 – here are the top ten takeaways.

1. Calls for structural reform of finance for nature and climate

It was impossible to pass a day at COP27 without having a conversation about finance – but finance means different things to different people. The breakthrough on loss and damage funding made the headlines, but this year there was much attention on structural reform of the financial system as well as the need to create innovative mechanisms that support nature and climate outcomes at national and ecosystem levels.

The Bridgetown agenda remained a central theme within these discussions. Before COP27, there was much focus on the need for financing adaptation measures – although in fact, very little progressed on this agenda from Glasgow. The multilateral development banks are also under scrutiny – sovereign bonds and sustainability-linked loans and bonds have been high on the agenda. Leading financial institutions from Japan to Norway to Brazil, all signatories to the Financial Sector Commitment on Eliminating Commodity-driven Deforestation have been moving forward with implementation through the Finance Sector Deforestation Action (FSDA) initiative.

FSDA members have published shared investor expectations for companies, and they are stepping up engagement activity and are working with policymakers and data providers. More broadly, the 10 point plan for financing biodiversity moved ahead at COP27 with a ministerial meeting between 16 countries representing five continents to set a pathway for bridging the global biodiversity finance gap – and looking ahead to the biodiversity COP15 in December 2020.

2. Biodiversity COP15 looms large

The biodiversity COP is usually a distant cousin to the climate COP, but in Egypt there was a considerable amount of attention on the need to create a “sister agreement” – a Paris moment for nature. The messaging that the climate and nature crises are deeply linked was made loud and clear at COP27.

On Biodiversity Day, the Paris climate champions urged leaders to step up action to address the accelerating loss of nature by delivering an ambitious biodiversity agreement at COP15 in Montreal. On the same day, more than 340 civil society leaders called on governments to prioritise the biodiversity COP, and a new survey from more than 400 experts from 90 countries revealed that a shocking 88% believe that the state of the world’s nature is “alarming” or “catastrophic and potentially irreversible”.

However, even though many countries were pushing for COP15 to be included in the COP27 text, the attempt failed – a disappointing outcome as net-zero emissions will not be enough to limit rapidly rising temperatures. Governments also need to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

3. Strong signs of political will for forests

The creation of the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP), announced at the World Leaders’ Summit, is being driven by the reality that there is no time to lose when it comes to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030, with the intent to demonstrate success by COP28. The leaders of the 28 – and counting – FCLP member countries serve as key actors in the partnership, and its ultimate priority setters.

The FCLP will hold regular meetings, including leader-level moments at the beginning of climate COPs to encourage accountability. Starting in 2023, the FCLP will also publish an annual Global Progress Report that includes independent assessments of global progress toward the 2030 goal, as well as summarising progress made by the FCLP itself, including in its action areas and initiatives.

The presence of Brazil’s president elect, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, put a spotlight on the Amazon at COP27 – with Brazil promising to prioritise stopping deforestation and offering to host COP30 in three years’ time. Also, an announcement by Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo – made in Indonesia ahead of the G20 – signalled their intentions to work together to protect their vast swathes of tropical forests, earning the nickname “the OPEC of rainforests”.

This chart shows the total hectares of forest that have been destroyed in different countries. Source: Statista.

This chart shows the total hectares of forest that have been destroyed in different countries. Source: Statista.

4. Implementation of forest pledges

Coming into COP27, there were clear signs that the global community is not yet on track to halt and reverse forest loss and degradation by 2030. Another UN-led report found that for 2030 goals to remain within reach, a one gigaton milestone of emissions reductions from forests must be achieved not later than 2025, and yearly after that, but that current public and private commitments to pay for emissions reductions are only at 24% of the gigaton milestone goal.

However, it wasn’t all bad news on the implementation front. Nature4Climate’s new joint commitment tracker found that 55% of the commitments tracked are demonstrating substantial signs of progress. There are also some bright spots to celebrate. For example, tropical Asia is on the path toward reversing forest loss by 2030: Indonesia’s deforestation rate dropped by 25% last year, and Malaysia also reported a fall of 24% in the pace of forest loss last year.

Forest pledges made in Glasgow at COP26 were also in the spotlight. In 2021, $2.67 billion was put towards forest-related programmes in developing countries – 22% of the $12 billion pledged at COP26, meaning that donors are on track to deliver by 2025. Private sector funds are also moving: for example, one year after launch, the IFACC initiative is scaling innovative financial mechanisms to help farmers without further conversion of the Amazon, Cerrado and Chaco ecosystems.

 

So far, commitments have risen from $3 billion to $4.2 billion and disbursements are expected to exceed $100 million this year. Similarly, the public-private LEAF Coalition has mobilised an additional $500 million in private finance, bringing a total of $1.5 billion in support of tropical forest protection. This is part of $3.6 billion of new private finance announced at the climate summit.

And exciting private sector initiatives worth noting include the launch of a new company Biomas (by Suzano, Santander, Itau, Marfrig, Rabobank and Vale) to restore 4 million hectares in the Amazon, the Mata Atlantica rainforest and the Cerrado. Also, 1t.org announced pledges from its first four Indian companies (Vedanta, ReNew Power, CSC Group and Mahindra) to join 75 other companies worldwide committed to planting and growing 7 billion trees in more than 60 countries.

5. Nature of negotiations

In the negotiations, nature-based solutions were included in the COP27 text for the first time, with forests, oceans and agriculture each having their own section. The Koronivia Dialogue – the track where food and agriculture is discussed at the UNFCCC – has finally been included in the text, but all eyes turn to COP28 for the focus required to truly transform food systems.

In the wonderful world of Article 6, things remain complex. Last year, at COP26 in Glasgow, countries decided on the basic framework of Article 6. Throughout 2022, countries have been focused on how to operationalise the Article 6 mechanism that allows countries to actually begin trading. In Egypt, the discussions were very technical – such as how registries are going to work, how countries will report on the trading, and what information should be submitted –with the aim of making things easy to track.

For nature, it was decided at COP26 that land use emissions were part of Article 6 – as it includes all sources and sinks. The focus in Egypt has been on article 6.4 – the mechanism for developing guidance on activities involving removals which includes reforestation, restoration, afforestation etc.

6. Technology meets nature

In a similar way to finance, “tech” gets everywhere at climate COPs, although historically that is not really the case when it comes to nature – not this year however. In Egypt, the need for high-tech solutions for nature and climate challenges was a constant refrain. The role of tech in improving transparency and accountability in monitoring supply chains (and tackling deforestation) and also in enhancing the integrity of carbon markets was evident everywhere.

Notable developments include Verra’s partnership with Pachama to pilot a digital measuring, reporting and verification platform for forest carbon. A new Forest Data Partnership was announced by WRI, FAO, USAID, Google, NASA, Unilever and the US State Department. WRI’s Land and Carbon Lab was on show demonstrating the new frontier of measuring carbon stocks and flows associated with land use.

Nature4Climate demonstrated a beta version of its new online platform (naturebase) to help decision makers implement natural climate solutions. And the new Global Renewable Energy Watch – a partnership between The Nature Conservancy, Microsoft and Planet – was also demonstrated. Capturing this emerging trend, Nature4Climate and Capital for Climate launched a report on the size and potential of the whole “nature tech” market that was discussed at an event in the Nature Zone.

7. Food finally arrives on the scene

Food was on everyone’s mind at COP27 in Egypt – but for the first time, it also made it onto the main agenda – being recognised in the final text and also with at least five event spaces solely dedicated to food and agriculture.

Important developments included the Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation Initiative (FAST) launched by the Egyptian COP presidency – a multi stakeholder partnership to accelerate access to finance, build capacity and encourage policy development to ensure food security in countries most vulnerable to climate change.

Also related to food, 14 of the world’s largest agricultural trading and processing companies shared their roadmap to 1.5℃ – to mixed reactions – with detailed plans on outlining how they will remove deforestation from their agricultural commodity supply chains by 2025.

8. An increasingly blue COP

Observers have expressed encouragement at this being “an increasingly blue COP”, with the ocean called out in the final declaration and the first ever ocean pavilion in the blue zone. Several declarations reinforced the recognition of the fundamental role of the ocean in the climate system.

The Egyptian presidency, Germany and IUCN launched the ENACT initiative (Enhancing Nature-based Solutions for an Accelerated Climate Transformation). The Mangrove Breakthrough was launched to protect 15 million hectares of mangrove globally by 2030. And the High Quality Blue Carbon Principles and Guidance were also announced.

9. Indigenous peoples and local communities

The critical role that Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) play as guardians of the forest is now firmly established and beyond question. At COP27, there was a polite but palpable frustration from IPLCs that climate funds are not reaching them. This massive deficit is increasingly being acknowledged by both by Indigenous and non-Indigenous actors, with a wide range of events dedicated to this topic.

While COP27 was a good space for Indigenous and non-Indigenous actors to share knowledge, to listen deeply to one another, to build relationships, it clearly can’t be the only space. While there are a number of encouraging signs of progress, including linking IPLCs with high-integrity markets, it’s clear the clock is ticking and IPLCs are getting impatient.

Clearly we must act with urgency, but it’s critical to take the time to build trust and mutual understanding, including absolute adherence to free, prior and informed consent protocols. This is necessary so that IPLCs can decide (or not) to participate in carbon markets with transparency, full understanding, and free consent. This takes time.

10. African-led initiatives take centre stage

While this was not the “African COP” that many hoped it might be, there were still a range of significant announcements coming out of Egypt that highlighted the continent’s potential as a natural capital powerhouse. These included the launch of the Africa Carbon Markets initiative, the Declaration for the Africa Sustainable Commodities Initiative, the launch of a $2 billion African restoration fund, a funding boost for Africa’s visionary Great Green Wall initiatives, and the announcement by the Global EverGreening Alliance and Climate Impact Partners of a new partnership to up to $330 million in community-led removal programs across Africa and Asia.

Read original article

As COP27 Looms, Africa Receives a 10th of Climate Financing It Needs

Posted on by TIMOTHYRADIER

As the international climate community prepares to descend on Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, new analysis shows just how far off their host continent is in terms of attracting the finance it needs to adapt to catastrophic global warming, build renewable energy plants and enhance its carbon-absorbing ecosystems.

At $30 billion, annual climate finance flows in Africa are just 11% of the $277 billion needed, according to research published Wednesday by the Climate Policy Initiative, a US-based nonprofit. The research was commissioned by FSD Africa, an organization funded by the UK government, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, a charity set up by billionaire hedge fund activist Christopher Hohn, and UK Aid. It’s the first to map climate finance flows in Africa by region, sector and source, and captures available data for 2019 and 2020.

Top of the agenda at the November UN climate summit in Egypt, known as COP27, will be demands from developing nations for more funding from rich countries to adapt to global warming and a financing mechanism to help them cope with natural disasters and extreme weather events. In 2009, developed countries committed to $100 billion of assistance for poorer nations every year. They have fallen significantly short of that target.

Africa accounts for a tiny fraction of the world’s carbon emissions but its nations will be among the hardest hit by global warming, already manifested globally in disasters ranging from heat waves in Europe to droughts in the Horn of Africa and floods in Pakistan.

“A report such as this allows us to measure whether the commitments of developed countries to provide finance to developing countries, is indeed being delivered,” said Valli Moosa, deputy chairman and effective head of South Africa’s Presidential Climate Change Coordinating Commission, in a statement.

Private sector finance in particular remains too low, the Climate Policy Initiative said in the report. Companies and commercial financial institutions contributed just 14% of total climate finance received in Africa, much lower than in other developing regions.

What on Earth?What on Earth?What on Earth?The Bloomberg Green newsletter is your guide to the latest in climate news, zero-emission tech and green finance.The Bloomberg Green newsletter is your guide to the latest in climate news, zero-emission tech and green finance.The Bloomberg Green newsletter is your guide to the latest in climate news, zero-emission tech and green finance.

Existing flows are highly concentrated, with 10 of the 54 countries on the continent accounting for more than half of Africa’s climate finance. These include Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa. The Southern African region bears the largest financing gap in absolute terms, attributed by the researchers to the $107 billion annual needs of South Africa alone, combined with one of the lowest regional levels of climate investment. As a percentage of gross domestic product, countries in Central and East Africa face the largest investment gaps.

Investment Opportunities

South Africa, the continent’s most industrialized nation, is transitioning from reliance on coal for more than 80% of its electricity to renewable energy, meaning that billions of dollars will need to be spent on new power plants and an expanded electricity grid.

“Public and private actors must act with scale and speed to help bring Africa’s climate goals to fruition,” said Barbara Buchner, global managing director of the Climate Policy Initiative. “Africa offers a wealth of climate-related investment opportunities” and “the social, economic, and environmental benefits which could be realized are even greater,” she said.

Those investment opportunities are spread across a number of sectors, including clean energy plants and agribusiness. Annual investment in renewable power stands at just 7% of the $133 billion that the International Energy Agency estimates African countries need to meet their 2030 energy and climate goals, according to the research. Agriculture and forestry investments are also falling short of financing needs.

Read original article

How to fund sustainable growth in Africa

Posted on by TIMOTHYRADIER

‘How to fund sustainable growth in Africa’ was a recent event held at London Business School’s Sammy Ofer Centre by the Royal African Society (RAS) and Standard Chartered which saw Bill Winters, CEO of Standard Chartered, in conversation with Arunma Oteh, OON, Chair of the RAS, about how to fund sustainable growth in Africa. The event was supported by London Business School’s Wheeler Institute for Business and Development and the LBS Africa Club.

The issue of sustainable growth is a significantly important topic for investors, banks and corporates around the world. Promoting sustainable finance to emerging economies is a growing priority for the global investment community, bringing together public and private sectors to ignite and grow climate and environmental finance, promote good governance, and support broader development goals. Standard Chartered Bank’s CEO Bill Winters addressed these issues and more on 5 October, and later engaged in discussion Royal African Society Chairperson Arunma Oteh.

Africa’s massive financing gap

The UN’s Economic Report on Africa 2020 estimated that the continent needed about $1.3tn a year to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, a figure that could increase by 50% to $19.5tn as a result of population growth. A more recent report by Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), funded by CIFF and FSD Africa, Climate Finance Needs of African Countries, has estimated that the cost of implementing the continent’s NDCs (nationally determined contributions) under the Paris Agreement could be around $2.8tn between 2020 and 2030; the UN now estimates the figure to be over $3tn over the same period.

It is not fair or possible for Africa to meet these funding requirements. Africa accounts for only 2-3% of current global emissions (and about the same level of cumulative emissions) and yet is the continent most at risk from climate change. CPI’s report explains that African governments have committed $264bn of domestic resources for implementing NDCs, leaving a funding gap of $2.5tn. In comparison, the combined annual GDP across the continent is $2.4tn. If African countries were to fund the gap themselves, the annual expenditure of $250bn would more than double their combined spending on health. The CPI report notes, however, that “total annual climate finance flows in Africa, for 2020, domestic and international, were only $30bn, about 12% of the amount needed,” and that “most current climate financing in Africa is from public actors (87%).” In other words, there is a pressing need for much greater involvement of private finance in closing the funding gap.

Attracting private finance

For Standard Charters’ Bill Winters, there are three things that are required to access private finance at scale:

First, there needs to be continued development of a set of agreed standards against which to measure projects and their impacts. CPI’s report (cited above) emphasises the need to improve the quality and granularity of the data on the financing needs of each country, classifying them by economic sector and subsector and by public and private sources of finance.
Second, there needs to be a more effective model for public-private partnerships with MDBs (multilateral development banks). At present, there are two main challenges – the scale of MDB financing available and the ratio of private to public funds in the projects. Winters explained that MDBs currently contribute around $9bn annually (out of a total requirement of $1.3tn) and that for every 95c received from the World Bank only around $1 of private capital is contributed. When asked in the discussion’s Q&A session what he would do if he were newly elected president of a US MLB, he said he would ask his shareholders for at least a doubling of capital, request permission to increase funding for sustainable projects by fifteen times, and tell them that the expected loss on those projects would need to increase from approximately zero to 6-7%, the loss rate one would expect from a risky tranche of such projects. In this way, public financing would be catalysing, rather than substituting.
Finally, non-bank capital needs to be accessed at scale. With less than 2% of the AUM of the 300 largest asset managers targeted at Africa, there is scope for much greater involvement of private investors, but only if the products available can be standardised, understandable and rated.
The potential global benefits of Africa’s sustainable growth

A recent Standard Chartered report, Just in Time, has estimated that developing markets, of which Africa represents a large proportion, need $95tn between now and Net Zero. If the countries were to fund it themselves through taxation and borrowing, it could reduce household consumption by an estimated 5% p.a. This would be an especially unfair burden, given Africa’s low contribution to global emissions. If funded by public and private capital from developed countries, on the other hand, GDP could be increased by 3.1% in emerging markets and 2% worldwide (equivalent to $108tn to 2060). This would represent a welcome contribution to global growth in the mid-21st century.

Net Zero and Africa’s energy policy

During a Q&A session moderated by Arunma Oteh, Winters was asked about how the drive for Net Zero would affect the nearly 800 million people with no access to electricity, many of whom are in countries looking to increase the levels of emissions-generating industrial, educational and urban activities as part of their growth agendas. Winters acknowledged that Africa’s power deficit was enormous and that a just transition must be central to any successful sustainability action, and he accepted that the strong economic growth that was on offer would also entail a rise in emissions, before a reduction. But, given the target of a 45% reduction in emissions by 2030, he hoped that big investments in better power, manufacturing and agriculture would be made now. When asked specifically about natural gas, Winters explained that – as in the IEA’s likely scenario – gas usage would increase due to underlying growth and would represent an essential transition fuel for the continent.

COP26 and the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets

When reflecting on COP26, Winters felt that notable successes had been achieving greater involvement of the private sector, developing a clearer model for public-private relationships (and in the process overcoming some initial antagonism between the parties) and establishing good frameworks for measurement and assessment. One of the areas in which he felt there was more to do was Article 6 on market mechanisms and non-market approaches. COP26 saw the adoption of guidance, rules, modalities and procedures to be overseen by a Supervisory Board, and the introduction of instruments (ITMOs) similar to carbon credits in the voluntary carbon markets, but there remain some areas to clarify around past credits and the potential for double counting, amongst others.

Winters was then asked about his role as Chair of the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM), the private sector-led initiative working to scale an efficient and effective voluntary carbon market. He explained that it contains 450 members from a range of fields – NGOs, academia, private sector actors, including emitters, and intermediaries – who are seeking to get tens or hundreds of millions of dollars into environments at risk and to incentivise the development of carbon-reducing technologies that would otherwise lack investment. The first focus of these activities has been the Amazon, the Congo Basin and the Indonesian rainforests, currently home to the world’s largest existing carbon sinks.

Looking ahead to COP27

Oteh then asked Winters about his thoughts on COP27 and what his criteria for success would be for that meeting. He hoped to see ongoing focus on public-private partnerships, that is, an acknowledgement that the problem was too large to be solved by either party alone. Then he asked for greater specificity in the definitions in Article 6 about how national accounting reconciles to carbon markets. Finally, he said that governments had to deliver the funds they promised, if they were to have any chance of catalysing private sector financing in the volumes required.

Overall, Winters was positive that the required momentum was building behind this issue. As we look forward to COP27 and think about Africa’s journey towards sustainable growth, both he and Oteh were optimistic that Governments and MDBs can catalyse private sector finance to enable a just transition top Net Zero on the continent. We will be watching COP27 to see whether these hopes are realised.

This event was curated by the Royal African Society (RAS) and Standard Chartered and supported by the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development and the LBS Africa Club.

David Jones MBA 2022 is a Classics graduate and has worked as a teacher in Malawi, an accountant at Deloitte and in the finance function at the Science Museum in London. He completed an internship with the Wheeler Institute’s Development Impact Platform in Zambia over summer 2021 and is now continuing as an intern for the Wheeler Institute, contributing to the creation of content that amplifies the role of business in improving lives.

Read original article

United Kingdom Steps Up Climate Adaptation Finance Support for Africa

Posted on by TIMOTHYRADIER

The United Kingdom has announced a significant increase in its financial support to the poorest African countries that bear the brunt of climate change.

Speaking alongside African leaders at COP27 in the Egyptian city of Sharm El Sheikh, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly confirmed the UK will provide £200 million to the African Development Bank Group’s Climate Action Window, a new mechanism set up to channel climate finance to help vulnerable countries adapt to the impacts of climate change.

A number of countries on the continent have experienced extreme weather conditions from severe drought in Somalia to floods in South Sudan.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: “Climate change is having a devastating impact on some of the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa but historically they have received a tiny proportion of climate finance,” said Cleverly adding, “This new mechanism from the African Development Bank will see vital funds delivered to those most affected by the impacts of climate change, much more quickly.”

The UK Foreign Secretary noted, “Access to climate finance for emerging economies was a central focus at COP26 in Glasgow and I’m pleased to see tangible progress being made, supported today by £200 million of UK funding.”

Climate change has a disproportionate impact on the 37 poorest and least creditworthy countries in Africa. Nine out of ten most vulnerable countries to climate change are in Africa.

The Glasgow Climate Pact included a commitment from donors to double adaptation finance between 2019 and 2025.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced at the weekend that the UK will surpass that target and triple adaptation funding from £500 million in 2019 to £1.5 billion by 2025. This funding package provided to the African Development Bank will be 100% earmarked for adaptation.

The Prime Minister also confirmed yesterday that the UK is delivering on the target of spending £11.6 bn on International Climate Finance (ICF) between 2021/22 and 2025/26.

“I applaud the UK government for this major contribution towards the capitalization of the Climate Action Window of the African Development Fund, as it seeks to raise more financing to support vulnerable low-income African countries that are most affected by climate change. This bold move and support of the UK will strengthen our collective efforts to build climate resilience for African countries. With increasing frequencies of droughts, floods and cyclones that are devastating economies, the UK support for climate adaptation is timely, needed, and inspiring in closing the climate adaptation financing gap for Africa.”

“I came to COP 27 in Egypt with challenges of climate adaptation for Africa topmost on my mind. The support of the UK has given hope. I encourage others to follow this leadership on climate adaptation shown by the UK”, said Adesina.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

Read original article

New company to invest in sustainable infrastructure

Posted on by TIMOTHYRADIER

On the sidelines of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), which has been taking place since 6 November 2022 in Egypt, the Dutch investment company Cardano Development has signed a partnership with the British InfraCo Africa. The collaboration involves a joint investment of USD 20 million in a new company dedicated to the development of sustainable infrastructure in Kenya.

A new company will be created to support sustainable development in Kenya. This is the aim of a project led by InfraCo Africa and Cardano Development. The two investment companies have announced that they are raising $20 million to set up the new company, which will be modelled on InfraCredit Nigeria, which supports infrastructure development in Nigeria from its headquarters in Lagos. To set up the Kenya company, InfraCo Africa, which is part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group’s (PIDG) portfolio of companies, is contributing $15 million.

Amsterdam, Netherlands-based investment company Cardano Development is contributing $5 million. The deal is supported by PIDG and FSD Africa, a financial services company based in Nairobi, Kenya, that focuses on financial sector development in sub-Saharan Africa. The UK Department for International Development-funded company is supporting the establishment of the new entity with a $297,000 grant to Cardano Development.

“In addition to bridging the infrastructure access gap in Kenya and East Africa, the new company will issue guarantees for projects aligned with the Paris Agreement, helping to link financial flows to global efforts to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis,” explains Philippe Valahu, PIDG’s managing director. According to Valahu, the model of local currency guarantees that the future company will provide has been proven in Nigeria, where InfraCredit has issued about 114 billion naira (more than $259 million) in local currency guarantees in its first five years of operation.

In its first few years, the future company will focus on Kenya before expanding its activities in the rest of East Africa. As part of this expansion strategy, the new company is looking to issue up to $100 million in local currency (Kenyan shilling) guarantees in its first years of operation. The company is also expected to be supported by GuarantCo, a PIDG guarantee company that plans to provide a contingent capital facility. The company is being created with the support of the UK government and a clear agenda. It is to implement sustainable projects that improve climate change mitigation and adaptation while contributing to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Read original article