AfDB pledges $6.5 billion support for AU-led anti-desertification

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has pledged that it would support Africa’s pilot anti-desertification and climate change project, with $6.5 billion over the next five years.

This was disclosed yesterday by the AfDB President, Akinwunmi Adesina, during One Planet Summit, a series of extraordinary world climate summits first announced by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017.

Adesina said the fund would be drawn from both internal and external sources, including the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), among others.

“I am, therefore, pleased to announce that the African Development Bank will mobilise 6.5 billion dollars in support of the Great Green Wall over the next five years.

“Without the Great Green Wall, in the face of climate change and desertification, the Sahel may disappear.

“By building the Great Green Wall, we will secure the Sahel, reduce climate change, reduce migration and improve the lives of people,” Adeshina said.

With the Bank’s pledge, the African lender now joins a list of other institutions and world governments that have pledged over $14 billion in financial support to the initiative.