ADDIS ABABA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- African countries have been urged to explore innovative green energy development financing mechanisms to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.
The call was made by experts attending a meeting on sustainable green financing mechanisms for Africa that was organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) over the weekend in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
They emphasized the vital need to support environment-friendly investments, such as climate-smart agriculture, to mitigate climate change in Africa, according to a press release of the UNECA, which is headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Linus Mofor, senior environmental expert at the UNECA, told the meeting that African countries are increasingly experiencing water and heat stress at varying magnitudes, including droughts and seasonal shifts.
He stressed that international financial flows into Africa are "nowhere near sufficient" to address ecological adaptation, loss and damage as well as to support the low-carbon development needs of developing countries.
Green climate finance is key for sustainable development. It can facilitate low-carbon and climate-resilient development in Africa through collective responses, according to Mofor.
Data from the UNECA show that despite its limited contribution to global warming, Africa is significantly affected by this phenomenon, as 17 out of the 20 countries most threatened by climate change are located in Africa and climate change already impacts 2 percent to 9 percent of national budgets across the continent.
Veronica Jakarasi, chief director of Zimbabwe's Climate and Meteorological Services, stressed the need to support environment-friendly investments such as climate-smart agriculture to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change in Africa.
"To attract green financing, Africa needs to have policy and regulatory frameworks with set targets in line with ambitious development," said Jakarasi.
She said green financing is the new way of mobilizing resources for financing climate change resilience, and that countries should establish innovative financing mechanisms to fund their climate change engagements.
The sustainable green financing-themed meeting was held on the margins of this year's edition of the UNECA's Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, which runs from Feb. 28 to March 5 under the theme "Financing the transition to inclusive green economies in Africa: Imperatives, opportunities, and policy options," in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. ■