African delegates were all smiles yesterday at the ongoing Climate Change Summit (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.The day opened with a high-level session at which several African leaders called for “increasing climate finance and green growth in Africa”, the theme of the event, ending with hundreds of millions of dollars in Africa-focused pledges.

To ‘amplify the voice of African countries globally and provide a space and platform to highlight the continent’s challenges, opportunities and responses’ was the focus of Africa Day yesterday.

Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Commission for Africa, emphasised key areas for leveraging resources and strategic collaborations to finance climate action and green growth: “Let’s make our priority investing in the deployment of the continent’s abundant renewable resources and processing its essential minerals,” he said.

The African Development Bank (AfDB), which launched a Climate Action Window to mobilise up to $14 billion to support adaptation in 37 low-income countries, highlighted the continent’s wealth.

“Everything that we have, we have in abundance,” said AfDB President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, to African leaders, representatives of governments and the private and public sectors.

Adesina made his point forcefully: “Africa is home to 65 per cent of the world’s uncultivated arable land and has a key role to play in global food security. What Africa makes of agriculture will determine the future of the world’s food. Our determination is crystal clear: Africa will never again beg for food.”

African Union Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, took a more political tone. Denouncing the injustice of seeing the continent, a “minor polluter”, receive “too little” in funding to fight the effects of climate change, he stressed that financial climate investment in Africa represented a “congruent share”.

“This investment must not diminish,” he said, insisting on the link between transition and adaptation. We must engage in serious negotiations with our partners to find consensus.”

The honour of officially inaugurating Africa Day at COP28 went to Azali Assoumani, the president of Comoros and sitting Chair of the African Union.

“the growing importance of green and sustainable grWe see owth in Africa and of innovative partnerships to ensure climate finance,” he said, praising Kenyan President William Ruto’s leadership at the Africa Climate Summit.

African and global institutions have joined Germany, France and Japan to pledge over $175 million to the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa, one of a series of hundreds of millions of dollars in Africa-focused deals announced so far at COP28.

The pledge is intended to scale up financing for transformative climate-aligned infrastructure projects across the continent and will contribute to the first close of a $500 million fund of early-stage project preparation and development blended capital.

Already, $40 million of the capital has been provided by the AfDB and another $40 million will come from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA).

For Nigeria, the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria, the African Green Infrastructure Investment Bank, and Solarge International BV have announced their plans to manufacture lightweight solar panels with an ultra-low carbon footprint in Nigeria.

Other significant achievements include the commitment of over $400 million to the loss and damage fund, the rollout of 100 electric vehicles in Nigeria, and the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria (InfraCorp), a privately managed infrastructure development backed by the government with a budget of US$15 billion, and African Green Infrastructure Investment Bank and Solarge International BV for the establishment of a solar panel manufacturing factory in Nigeria.

With over 600 million Africans without access to electricity, world leaders, the private and public sectors and institutional investors are prioritising the need to bridge the energy access gap, which currently exists.

Energy access remains the lifeblood of any thriving economy and MoUs of this nature would bring about knowledge and skill transfer, as well as bridge the unemployment gap that currently exists in the country.

The Solar PV Manufacturing Plant will be one of the first large-scale production facilities in the world for lightweight solar panels with an ultra-low carbon footprint.

The project will play a pivotal role in Nigeria’s commitment to sustainable local manufacturing and critical infrastructure for achieving Net Zero emissions and advancing its energy transition plan to cleaner and more sustainable energy sources, reducing reliance on traditional fossil fuels. More fundamentally, the project reinforces the drive towards localisation, green manufacturing and import substitution agenda of the country.

While speaking at the launch, which took place at the Nigerian pavilion, Dr Lazarus Angbazo, CEO of InfraCorp said: “We are excited about the partnership with Solarge as it aligns with our commitment to driving an accelerated deployment of infrastructure in Nigeria and specifically toward sustainable development and economic growth.
   
“The Solar PV Manufacturing Plant represents a critical step in our aspiration to champion the deployment of climate-resilient infrastructure for a cleaner, greener, and more industrially vibrant Nigeria”.

His Royal Highness, Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme, Climate Envoy of The Netherlands who was also at the Nigerian Pavilion said: “This partnership is a significant step forward to realising Nigeria’s ambitions to transition to a green sustainable economy, strengthening the relations between Nigeria and the Netherlands.
   
“The solar sector not only provides opportunities for climate mitigation but also contributes to increased energy access and job creation. Together, we are committed to leveraging these opportunities for a sustainable and prosperous future.”

Jan Vesseur, CEO of Solarge also said: “Solarge is honoured to collaborate with InfraCorp in advancing Nigeria’s solar energy capabilities. Our joint efforts will contribute to the realisation of a sustainable and resilient energy future for the country and strengthen the long-standing bilateral relationship between the governments of Nigeria and the Netherlands.

Also, Nigeria and other African countries are poised to gain from €5 million in Sustainable Energy Funds from Italy through the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) Special Fund.

The Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy Security for Italy, Vannia Gava, announced a new contribution during a side event at the COP28 yesterday.

“This new contribution of €5 million to the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) Special Fund strengthens the attention that the Italian Government devotes to Africa, a geographical region of priority importance for our country’s energy and climate policies,” Gava said.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and various charitable organisations have offered $777 million to combat neglected tropical diseases in developing countries, which are anticipated to escalate with rising temperatures.

COP28 President, Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, underscored the gravity of climate-related health threats, stating that these climate-related factors“have become one of the greatest threats to human health in the 21st century.”

Major contributors to the funding include the UAE, pledging $100 million, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, committing an additional $100 million. Belgium, Germany, and the U.S. Agency for International Development also joined the initiative by announcing funds for climate-related health issues.