Access eased to fight climate change

Namibia needs about US$22 billion (N$259 billion) to react and adapt to climate change, while only half of that will be spent on preparing for its affects. An agreement was signed yesterday between the environment ministry and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) regarding access to the Green Climate Fund. Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta said the ministry stands ready to work with the financial institution to come up with bankable, transformative projects that can be submitted to the Green Climate Fund for funding.He said through the DBSA, which is an accredited entity to the Green Climate Fund, Namibia is now in a position to undertake programming of projects in the areas of food security, water, renewable energy and resilient infrastructure.According to Shifeta, estimations indicate that Namibia will need about US$22 billion for adaptation and US$11 billion (N$129.8 billion) for mitigation.Shifeta said climate change is recognised as one of the greatest current global challenges and Namibia is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world facing the impacts of climate change. He said the signing of this agreement is thus a milestone in the endeavour towards the mobilisation of much-needed climate finance in order to enhance climate resilience for Namibians, and also to tap into mitigation opportunities which can significantly reduce greenhouse gases. Namibia has communicated its climate change actions through its Intended Determined Contributions (INDC) submitted to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNDCC). In this document, Namibia pledged very ambitious commitments to the world to tackle the problem and ultimately, to achieve the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement. According to Shifeta the implementation of this INDC will cost around US$33 billion up to 2030 of which 10% will be sourced by Namibia through domestic financial resources, and the remaining 90% of this cost will be mobilised from multilateral and bilateral sources. “Therefore the signing of this agreement comes at an opportune time for us to mobile resources to fully implement our Nationally Determined Contributions to fight against climate change,” he said. He said Namibia's commitments to the world in terms of emissions are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 89% by 2030. This will involve increasing the share of renewable energy consumption on electricity production to 70% by 2030, and reducing energy consumption by about 10% through energy efficiency programmes. “We believe that with proper planning and the availability of financial resources, and technical capacity, the commitment is achievable.”Shifeta further said that Namibia has the most fertile grounds for renewable energy in the world and has one of the best solar regimes. “In the transport sector, we commit to reduce emissions by 1 300 metric tonnes.” Shifeta said this will be achieved through the implantation of mass green transportation systems in urban areas, starting with the City of Windhoek.”ELLANIE SMIT

Access eased to fight climate change

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-07-04

Please login to leave a comment

Access eased to fight climate change

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-07-04

Please login to leave a comment

Login