The president of the African Development Bank, Femi Adesina, on Tuesday, said the financial institution has committed to providing $25bn to climate finance by 2050 as part of efforts to accelerate action on climate adaptation. He stated this on the second day of the African Climate Summit, being held at The Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Nairobi, Kenya.

The African Climate Summit is the first of its kind in Africa and it is centred on green growth and climate finance to seek a prosperous, carbon-free Africa. The summit is aimed at setting Africa’s agenda for the Conference of Parties for the 28th annual meeting of members of the UNFCCC, scheduled to be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from November 30 to December 12, 2023.

Femi Adesina also emphasized the need to accelerate actions on climate adaptation at the national level which is why the African Development Bank has committed to providing $25bn to providing climate finance by 2025. He also mentioned that the African Adaption Act Commission program together with the Global Centre on Adaptation has been launched emerging as the largest climate adaption program in the world. According to him, “Africa must develop with what it has not what it does not have.”

To harness Africa’s potential in renewable energy, Adeshina called for the combination of natural gas and renewable energy to provide energy in the continent. The AfDB president added that this combination would only contribute 0.5 percent to global emissions.

“We cannot power Africa with potential. We must truly unlock Africa’s renewable energy potential. That is why the Africa Development Bank is implementing $20bn to harness the power of solar and deliver electricity to 250 million people.

“We must power every home, school, and hospital and provide stable, affordable, and reliable power. But we must be pragmatic, Africa must use its natural gas and combine it with renewable energy”, he said.