Building capacity and mobilizing knowledge towards catalyzing NDC finance in Africa

 

Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) were key to securing the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015. They outline national goals for greenhouse gas emission reductions and identify financial needs for unfolding mitigation and adaptation efforts. Almost all African countries have committed to the Paris Agreement on climate change and submitted action plans for implementing mitigation and adaptation actions under the NDCs. Effective implementation of NDCs depends on adequate financing, capacity building and technology transfer.

For countries in Africa to effectively implement actions outlined in their NDCs, they need approximately USD2.8 trillion (approximately CAD3.88 trillion) by 2030. This expected funding is, however, facing significant gaps due to poor access to available international funding, less developed market systems to attract private sector funding, and limited capacity to unlock new funding from the private and development sectors. There is a need to understand the mechanics and metrics of private sector financing for NDCs in Africa to inform strategic institutional preparedness, including capacity-building programs that can catalyze private sector funding.

Lessons from the first NDC revisions submitted in 2020 revealed that most African countries focused on increasing technical ambitions with few details on financial transition to achieve such ambitions. This study seeks to unlock the potential for rapid NDC financing by harnessing the power of existing private sector and development funds. The study will unpack the NDC financing outlook for Africa and the opportunities for private sector interventions. It will also evaluate how two IDRC-funded fellowship programs (Adaptation Finance Fellowship and NDC Finance Fellowship) have influenced financing opportunities, which will identify gaps and opportunities for more impactful capacity-building initiatives. The study will significantly inform the new ambitions that countries are setting in their second round of updated NDCs.