United Kingdom Allocates Green Projects in Africa £49 Mn

The United Kingdom through its Minister for Development and Africa has announced Sh9 Billion funding that will support green projects in Africa.

During his visit to Kenya today, the United Kingdom Minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell disclosed the investment by the United Kingdom to Africa.

The new funding will go to initiatives and projects that support environmental conservations and others will be injected into projects that will help people cope with the adverse effects of climate change across Africa.

“United Kingdom’s partnership with African countries on green investments and climate resilience are growing economies and improving lives. The UK is working closely with African partners to tackle climate change, build resilience, and help those whose lives are most affected. ” Mitchell said.

During the visit, Mitchell also reassured of the UK’s commitments towards spending Sh2 Trillion on internal climate finance for over 5 years.

UK is yet to commit to the plan originally made during the COP27 in Glasgow. This is part of the pledge made by wealthy nations to provide 14 trillion annually for climate finance in developing countries.

In his visit, Mitchell will also visit the Menengai Geothermal Project with a planned capacity of 35MW being conducted by the Geothermal Development Company and Globeleq.

The other green investment projects included in the agreement are the Malindi Solar Power Plant, Grand Hills Falls Dam, and United Green Agro-Industrial Processing System.

Mitchell also called for rapid reform in the international financial system to open ways for investment in trillions of dollars in climate change.

Climate Adaptation and Resilience Research Programme (CLARE)

The United Kingdom has £21.5 million dedicated to new projects under the CLARE program. This is a COP26 commitment which is 15% co-funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

six new projects across fifteen countries
- Three of these projects will work with communities, universities, NGOs, and governments in countries across the continent to build long-term water security and resilience while also strengthening social inclusion
- The other projects will support women smallholder farmers in Uganda to develop climate-resilient practices, enable cross-border pastoralist communities in East Africa to better access and use climate information, and work with the private sector in Kenya for a gender-responsive livestock insurance product

Africa Regional Climate and Nature Programme (ARCAN) £12.5 million

Weather and Climate Information Services (WISER): Up to £4.5m of new projects
launch of new projects under the third phase of the successful WISER Africa program, delivered by the UK-based Met Office, which aims to improve the uptake of weather and climate information services to strengthen resilience to climate change and extreme weather events; this will build the climate resilience of 3 million people
ARCAN is a COP26 commitment

These new projects will:

build resilience to floods by strengthening early warning systems in West Africa
provide 400,000 farmers and agricultural workers in East Africa with better access to information on the weather and climate, enabling them to prepare and protect their crops
provide early warnings of extreme weather to marginalized urban communities across East and Southern Africa, helping to save lives and prevent damage to homes and livelihoods

Cooperation in International Waters in Africa (CIWA): £8 million

New UK funding of £8 million to the World Bank’s Cooperation in International Waters in Africa (CIWA) program, to begin in 2023
CIWA supports African countries to manage shared water resources, ensure water systems are more resilient to climate change, and help deliver the SDGs
Support for CIWA comes from the Africa Regional Climate and Nature (ARCAN) program
The UK was a founding donor and supported CIWA with £14.8 million from 2011 to 2018
To date, US$7 billion financing has been influenced by CIWA for cooperative management and development of mobilized transboundary waters investments, and 19.46 million people directly benefit from improved water resources management and development projects influenced by CIWA

FSD Africa / FSD Africa investments: £15 million

The United Kingdom has seven programs across Africa that will provide financing, create start-ups, establish guarantees, and create associations to support green finance across Africa
- impacts include job creation and improving access to basic services such as clean water and green electricity
- This will mobilise millions from private sources, allowing small-scale businesses to access: finance; innovative products; funding for renewable energy and carbon capture developers; and support for innovative and inclusive tech solutions across Africa
SPARK: £2.35 million equity stake in Spark Energy, helping provide financing to project developers in the Captive Solar, distribution and Energy Efficiency across Sub-Saharan Africa. 1,400 jobs, and lower cost and reliable power supply to households.
Acre Export Fund: £10 million commitment toward Acre Export Finance Fund, a US $300 million fund set up to finance the uncovered portion of Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) backed climate-aligned infrastructure projects in Africa, further unlocking local capital through a guarantee to local commercial banks. 2,000 jobs and access to basic services including renewable energy and healthcare for over 500,000 people.
Catalyst Fund: £3.5 million contribution to the next close of Catalyst Fund, an early-stage accelerator and venture builder focussed on supporting promising climate start-ups across Africa.

Weza Power

Only 12% of Burundi’s 12 million people currently have access to electricity
Over a seven-year period, Weza Power will aim to connect 9 million people. Most of the new household customers currently burn kerosene and charcoal for energy, while businesses have to rely on expensive and polluting diesel generators
The project aims to raise US 1.4 billion in investment to deliver this, without the government of Burundi needing to raise additional loans