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Announced ahead of COP29, the Climate Parliament and UNIDO have begun the implementation of a new initiative focused on supporting parliamentarians across 15 African nations to unlock public and private green investment in alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Supported by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the “Parliamentarians for Climate Finance” project will help to raise awareness among politicians of the climate threat and of the economic opportunities that climate action offers at the national level, and support the incorporation of climate finance into national planning and policymaking.
At the heart of the project will be a series of “Green Investment Dialogues” to be held in each country involving parliamentarians, public and private investors, guarantors, ministers and regulators. A major focus of these discussions will be creating Green Zones in solar and wind-rich areas that will act as hubs for regional grids, and development zones for industries using green hydrogen - such as green steel, cement or fertiliser.
The initial group of participating countries includes: Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, The Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The first ever global stocktake was undertaken during COP28. Its conclusions revealed the significant funding shortfall required to support climate action and the clean energy transition, with a new shared climate finance goal to be implemented from 2025. Major financial institutions estimate that around $2-2.8 trillion investment per year will be needed by 2030 for emerging markets and developing economies to meet their climate goals.
The issue is multi-faceted and must be tackled from all angles. International NGO the Climate Parliament focusses on one critical group in this process – elected politicians. Elected politicians play a crucial role in shaping policies, laws, and budget allocations that can attract international public climate finance and private investments for decarbonising the energy sector. While governments and ministers change, cross-party groups of legislators can maintain consistent engagement, helping to build political will for government action.
Parliamentarians involved in the programme will report to each other on progress, including the strengthening of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), regionally and globally – including at COPs.
Sergio Missana, Secretary-General of the Climate Parliament, said:
“This investment from the GCF is a real shot in the arm for the efforts to address one of the major issues holding back essential progress on climate action.
“As COP28 showed, a massive increase in funding and capacity is needed if the world is going to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement – and that will only happen with the right national policies in place to deliver, support and incentivise green investment. Parliamentarians are absolutely fundamental – indeed, they are the only ones with the democratic mandate to decide how climate policies and budgets are prioritised. This new programme will see MPs, initially from 15 countries across Africa, come together, with direct input from investors, to identify opportunities to improve the conditions for investment in their regions and to remove barriers and reduce risk.
“As countries prepare to agree and submit the next round of Paris Agreement NDCs there must be ambition to go further, faster, and to increase the attractiveness of climate investment.
“I’d like to thank Green Climate Fund and our partners UNIDO for their support for our work, and the MPs from all those countries already involved in the programme for their leadership, vision and commitment to deploying their influence, and votes, in support of concrete climate action. We hope they are just the first of many more to follow.”
The project will begin with an international Green Investment Dialogue to be held in Istanbul ahead of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The Dialogue will bring together investors and experts with more than 80 influential Members of Parliament and Congress from 42 countries, including the 15 Africa nations at the centre of the UNIDO project.
It will feature a series of high-level and technical discussions designed to provide legislators with the knowledge and tools necessary to mobilise climate finance in their respective countries.
The Istanbul Dialogue will build on commitment secured by Climate Parliament at COP28 from MPs from around the world to create the necessary legislative and regulatory framework in their countries to attract green investment and enable essential action to combat climate change.