AFRICAN CLIMATE POLICY

African Climate Policy

---Dr.Debesh Bhowmik

The lack of appropriate climate information is a major obstacle to addressing the challenges of climate change in Africa, and has led to calls by African leaders and development partners to improve the provision and use of appropriate climate information to promote planning for sustainable development in Africa.  As part of the effort to address climate change challenges in Africa, the Climate for Development in Africa Program was designed as a joint initiative of the African Development Bank, the Commission of the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.  The Program has been endorsed at regional meetings of African Heads of State and Government and by Africa’s Ministers of Finance, Planning, Economic Development, and the Environment. Its purpose is to explore actions required in overcoming climate information gaps, for analyses leading to adequate policies and decision-making at all levels.

The African Development Bank accepted the request from the AUC and UNECA to establish the ClimDev-Africa Special Fund  and to administer its resources for demand-led interventions. The Board of Directors of the Bank sought and received the approval of the Board of Governors for the establishment of the Fund.  The ClimDev-Africa Special Fund was established by the Bank’s Board of Governors on 27th May 2010.

The CDSF forms one of the three elements of ClimDev-Africa, the others being the African Climate Policy Center at UNECA, and the Climate Change and Desertification Control Unit at the AUC. They held its first annual stakeholder forum on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-I). The conference theme, “Development First: Addressing Climate Change in Africa,” reflected the need for integrating development and climate policies and emphasized the importance of African ownership of policy formulation and the decision-making process.

All of the three elements received mandates from the highest level of African Policy makers, Heads of Government and Ministers of Finance, Planning and the Environment. Each has its own set of formal documents in addition to the ClimDev-Africa Framework Programme Document (CFPD) which was developed by the ClimDev-Africa Secretariat to define the linkages between the three elements of the program.

The goal of the CDSF is to pool resources to contribute to sustainable development and, in particular, poverty reduction by preparing and implementing climate-resilient development programs that mainstream climate change information at all levels in Africa. The objective of the CDSF is to strengthen the institutional capacities of national and sub-regional bodies to formulate and implement effective climate-sensitive policies.

The ClimDev-Africa Programme Special Fund (CDSF) supports operations in the following three main areas: [i]Generation and wide dissemination of reliable and high quality climate information in Africa,[ii] Capacity enhancement of policy makers and policy support institutions to integrate climate change information into development programs; and [iii] Implementation of pilot adaptation practices that demonstrate the value of mainstreaming climate information into development.

The immediate beneficiaries are the group of “Policy Makers” that Clim Dev serves including Regional Economic Communities ; River Basin Organizations; National governments (including NMHs); Parliamentarians; and African negotiators. The ultimate beneficiaries are rural communities with climate sensitive livelihoods; communities vulnerable to climate sensitive diseases; communities dependent on uncertain water and other natural resources, communities at risk of disasters, and communities with poor energy access.

The fund has not yet become effective as the UA 20 million (approximately €22.4 million) required by the Instrument has not been secured. However, steps are well underway to operationalize the Fund including the opening of a bank account and the preparation of Operational Procedures Manual. The governance structure of the Fund consists of a) the ClimDev–Africa Programme Steering Committee  that reports to the Programme Executive Board which comprises the Chief Executives of the African Development Bank, AUC and UNECA; b) the African Development Bank Board of Directors, and its governance structure, and c) a CDSF Coordination Unit headed by a Coordinator. Overall decision-making with regard to CDSF operations will be carried out through two main organs: the Steering Committee and the Bank Board of Directors. For purposes of Programme Coordination, the CDSF Coordination Unit will liaise with the ClimDev-Africa Secretariat.

CDSF resource requirements for the three-year period 2012-2014 amount to €144 million to finance and manage 72 projects.  Whilst UA 20 million is required immediately for the Fund to become effective, the resource mobilization goal for 2012 is to secure the €32 million required to implement the 2012 work program. In order to acquire adequate and stable funding for CDSF, a high level resource mobilization strategy has been prepared for CDSF which will be carried out in collaboration with the Program partners over the coming years. The donor roundtable meeting is being organized by the ClimDev Africa Partners and is hosted by the Government of Sweden on the third week of April 2012 at the SIDA headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden as an initial and critical step to implement the resource mobilization strategy. The Swedish government has pledged to commit €7.5 million to a special fund of the Climate for Development in Africa Program (ClimDev-Africa) established to pool resources and finance demand-driven projects in Africa that intend to generate and disseminate climate information to all levels of society. This pledge and other expressions of interest and intent to partner with ClimDev-Africa in delivering objectives came during a high level roundtable hosted by ClimDev-Africa on 25 April 2012 in Stockholm, Sweden.

The current process for accessing resources from existing global climate funds is cumbersome and fraught with procedural hurdles that make timely delivery to needy African countries and regions difficult. The operational procedures of CDSF was designed to ensure a fast-track process for the review, approval and implementation of operations financed with the resources of the CDSF  and the experience and knowledge acquired by the Bank in administering similar funds. The design of the program takes account of lessons learned from previous continental exercises where institutional fragmentation impaired achievement.  The joint management arrangements, where AUC, ECA and African Development Bank collectively take decisions for the implementation of the activities seek to ensure institutional coherence.The Bank has over the years built strong partnerships with key climate institutions both within and outside the continent, and is currently providing support to ACMAD, ICPAC, AGRHYMET and other continental climate change initiatives.

To deal with overlapping sub-regional mandates, the operation of ClimDev-Africa will take account of ongoing assessments of the capacities and capabilities of the Regional Economic Communities and other sub-regional organizations. As a result, care will be taken in the implementation of the program to clarify mandates, build sub-regional capacity, and progressively build the involvement of sub-regional organizations within ClimDev-Africa’s operations.ClimDev Africa is a home grown African solution initiative to the overwhelming challenge of climate information, and the deep-reaching implications this issue has on sustainable development and green growth on the continent.

The grant will render the Fund operational and thus capable of financing projects already prepared regarding climate change and the prevention of risks linked to natural disasters in the five regions of the continent.  

The ClimDev-Africa Program was designed to collate, analyze and publish high-quality climate data. The data collected on climate change issues is made available to decision-makers and should serve as forecast instruments for natural disasters as well as for sustainable development policy-planning. The Investment Climate Facility (ICF) is a public-private initiative through which donors, international and domestic corporations as well as NGOs, collaborate with African governments and regional organizations, to improve the investment climate at the national, regional, and continental levels.The Facility was incorporated in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in April 2008 and work with other players in the field of investment climate enhancement by proactively identifying opportunities to develop programs that address important constraints on business throughout the continent.

ICF focuses on building the environment for investment by encouraging, developing, and working with coalitions for investment climate reform and supporting business community-government dialogue.  Getting the investment climate right and supporting governments in creating a legal, regulatory and administrative environment that encourages businesses at all levels to invest, grow and create jobs will lead to improving Africa's image as an investment destination through coordinated efforts.

The Facility supports the design and implementation of programs in eight areas that have been agreed on as priority constraints on the enabling environment. These are property rights, taxation and customs, infrastructure facilitation, competition, business registration and red tape, financial markets, labor markets, corruption, and crime.ICF supports legislative review and reforms; capacity building of key institutions such as land registry offices, company registries and commercial courts; promotion of public-private sector dialogue; implementation of recommendations of the NEPAD APRM (African Peer Review Mechanism) process; research as well as economic and sector work in the priority areas; and media work aimed at improving Africa's image as a place to do business.

The governing structure consists of two primary organs: the Board of Trustees (BOT) and its sub-committees; and the Management. A third organ supporting the Board and Management is the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).The ICF's business plan calls for processing approximately 12 new projects each year. The size of projects varies from less than US$500,000 to over US $1 million. The CEO approves small-size projects (not exceeding US$ 500,000) while larger operations require the approval of the BOT. The ICF target projects that fill specific gaps in the programs implemented by other development partners. It will generally seek larger projects to gain economies of scale.

The first phase of the ICF's operations is driven by three strategic themes:[i]Intra-African trade ,[ii]Facilitating business development and expansion ,and[iii]Facilitating financial and investment environment .At the request of the Facility, the Bank plays two key roles - premier regional partner and financial resources administrator. The ICF's projected funding needs stand at US$ 550 million during its life-span (7 years) with an initial target funding level of US$ 120 million for the first three years of operation.