Interview with Patrick Kabera, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Rwanda, on the role of the Green Climate Fund for developing countries in the global climate finance architecture.

Ahead of this week’s annual World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings in Marrakesh, the German government hosted last Thursday a high-level international replenishment conference in Bonn to mobilize financial commitments for the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Established in 2015, the fund is a critical element of the Paris Agreement to support developing countries in their efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. At the Bonn summit, 25 nations pledged about $9.3 billion for the 2024-2027 programming period. GCF hopes for contributions from more countries in the coming weeks on the road to the COP28 climate conference in Dubai.

In 2016, Rwanda was the first country to get access to the fund and so far completed ten projects in partnership with the GCF, receiving a total of $127 million, to accelerate the national climate adaptation capacity and green transition.

According to Kabera his country and the GCF have grown together in the process: “Countries like Rwanda, that are not major contributors of emissions, are equally committed to play our part to build a climate-resilient world.”

Earlier in September, the Government of Kenya and the African Union co-hosted the inaugural UN Africa Climate Summit to discuss sustainable solutions to global climate challenges under the theme "Driving Green Growth and Climate Finance Solutions for Africa and the World." The summit culminated in the Nairobi Declaration, backed by the leaders of the continent’s 54 countries, that calls on the world's biggest emitters and richest countries to keep their promises, in particular the unfilled pledge of $100 billion in annual climate finance to developing nations, and to rally behind a global carbon tax on fossil fuels, aviation and maritime transport.

Says Kabera: “The Nairobi declaration is a demonstration of the political will of our governments towards real climate action, but also a call for a reform in the global financial architecture. In order to unlock Africa’s growth and transformation, we need to invest in renewable energies, in green job creation for our population. We need to transform agriculture, adapt to climate change in core sectors like transport.”

Climate finance to developing countries is currently largely provided in the form of loans (71%) - and only 26% provided as grants.

Patrick Kabera on Rwanda's Role as a Trailblazer in Green Climate Financing

#25May
Between 19:00 (7pm) and 20:00 (8pm)
Gather in your group, club, movement, office, with your family and, friends
Wear red or have something red on you or in the background
Turn off your lights in solidarity with the millions of Africans with no access to electricity 
Light a candle (the more people with candles the better!)
Read out the Kilimanjaro Declaration 
Read out your list of demands  
Stand up together to signify your intention to build a new Africa and say:
WE ARE A UNITED AFRICA. WE ARE AFRICANS RISING. FOR JUSTICE, PEACE AND DIGNITY

We were born for this #25May2017

The idea behind BONNECTIONS is to provide a forum connecting newcomers and old Bonners and give voice to a wide variety of people and opinions. Our aim is positive reporting from different viewpoints about our city and its residents, a community in transition. Our environment is diverse and digital, innovative and creative. BONNECTIONS seeks out what is subtle, between the lines, and beyond the big headlines - our exploration of the possible.

The BONNECTIONS blog is the seed of a mul­ti­lin­gual dig­i­tal story telling project, ini­ti­ated by refugees and vol­un­teers. Our inten­tion is to grow organ­i­cally. We’re plan­ning a series of con­ver­sa­tions, photo essays, pod­casts and infor­ma­tion on local events and ini­tia­tives.


Patrick Kabera on Rwanda's Role as a Trailblazer in Green Climate Financing

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