A fortnight of talks is underway at COP21, the UN climate change conference in France. World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim has encouraged country leaders to come up with more innovative solutions to address the challenges they face, including financing hydro power dams.
A fortnight of talks is underway at COP21, the UN climate change conference in France. World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim has encouraged country leaders to come up with more innovative solutions to address the challenges they face, including financing hydro power dams.
In an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation ahead of the summit, Kim said hydropower projects could be done in a way that offsets negative effects, and should not be ruled out while two thirds of sub-Saharan Africans have no access to electricity.
"I am not saying hydro is the answer to everything," he said. "But I am saying taking it off the table while we have exploited it so effectively in the first world is just not fair."
With less than 10% of Africa’s hydropower resources developed so far, the World Bank Group has also unveiled a new plan which calls for US$16B in funding to help African people and countries adapt to climate change and build up the continent’s resilience to climate shocks.
Titled Accelerating Climate-Resilient and Low-Carbon Development, the Africa Climate Business Plan lays out measures to boost renewable energy and strengthen early warning systems.
“Sub-Saharan Africa is highly vulnerable to climate shocks, and our research shows that could have far-ranging impact – on everything from malaria to food price increases and droughts," said Jim Yong Kim. "This plan identifies concrete steps that African governments can take to ensure that their countries will not lose hard-won gains in economic growth and poverty reduction, and they can offer some protection from climate change."
The World Bank says it will continue to support the development of hydropower resources through technical work, financing, policy dialogue and resource mobilisation. These efforts will be grounded in the development of large hydropower generation capacity as well as water regulation to ensure year round production, and create further downstream hydropower development opportunities.
Other developments at COP21 include eleven donor countries pledging US$250M for adaptation support to the most vulnerable countries on the planet. Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US announced their contributions to the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), a climate fund hosted by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
Welcoming the injection of new financing, GEF CEO and Chairperson, Naoko Ishii, said: "Given that we’re already locked into climate change trajectories for many years to come, increased investment in adaptation has to be at the core of the new climate agreement. The money pledged today is vital to help some of the most vulnerable people on the planet cope with the immediate impacts of our rapidly warming world."
Demand from developing countries for financing from the LDCF remains strong. Droughts, violent storms, sea-level rise and other climate changes are already impacting the poorest and most vulnerable countries and communities.