At its 22^nd meeting, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) announced the approval of approximately $299.2 million to finance programs for electrification, combating climate change and economic development through renewable energy across Africa.

The renewable energy projects and programs approved by the GCF board include the following:

• An amount of $29.6 million for Mali solar rural electrification project with the West African Development Bank (BOAD). BOAD is the common development finance institution of the member countries of the West African Monetary Union (WAMU).
• $100 million for “Nigeria Solar IPP Support Program” with Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) to finance generation and access to clean energy in the country.
• $69.6 million for “BOAD Climate Finance Facility to Scale Up Solar Energy Investments” in Francophone West Africa LDCs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, the Niger, and Togo with
• $100 million for “Embedded Generation Investment Program (EGIP)” in South Africa with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). DBSA announced that it has matched GCF’s $100 million funding, ensuring there is a funding contribution of $200 million towards the implementation of EGIP from the two institutions. About $84 million of the $200 million funding will be utilized to provide “Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment” funding to enable the participation and ownership of local communities and small medium and micro enterprises in renewable energy. EGIP consists of a credit support mechanism that will develop a model for funding embedded generation renewable energy projects in South Africa

Javier Manzanares, executive director ad interim, stated, “GCF now has a $5 billion portfolio in 97 countries supporting low-emission, climate-resilient development. With decisions to ensure better governance, new project approvals, and a reinforced readiness programme, this board meeting has left us in great shape for our first replenishment.”

The GCF was established to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries, and to help vulnerable societies adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change.

In October 2018, Mercom reported on the news of GCF pledging $1 billion to fight climate change in developing countries.

In December 2018, the GCF along with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced that they would lend $73.5 million to a 100 MW solar project in Kazakhstan.

Shaurya is a staff reporter at MercomIndia.com with experience working in the Indian solar energy industry for the past four years in various roles. Prior to joining Mercom, Shaurya worked with a renewable energy developer and a consulting company. Shaurya holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Management from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom.