<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="520" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4SUMNVX4NJLMHGKOGXXS3REQBI-820x520.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-542390" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4SUMNVX4NJLMHGKOGXXS3REQBI-820x520.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4SUMNVX4NJLMHGKOGXXS3REQBI-300x190.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4SUMNVX4NJLMHGKOGXXS3REQBI-142x90.jpg 142w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4SUMNVX4NJLMHGKOGXXS3REQBI-768x487.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4SUMNVX4NJLMHGKOGXXS3REQBI-1536x974.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4SUMNVX4NJLMHGKOGXXS3REQBI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A man carries bread as he walks towards a grocery store, on a flooded street in Bamako, Mali September 23, 2024.REUTERS/Aboubacar Traore</figcaption></figure>



N&#8217;DJAMENA Oct 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Father-of-seven Dah Toubada Kadapia stood on a stack of homemade sandbags in his backyard in Chad&#8217;s capital N&#8217;Djamena, surrounded by floodwaters that locals say have risen higher than past years, causing more damage than ever.



Over the last few months, heavy rains have flooded every one of Chad&#8217;s 23 provinces, burst a dam in northern Nigeria, damaged ancient buildings in Niger&#8217;s desert town of Agadez, and killed more than 1,460 people in the countries on the fringes of the Sahara, according to U.N. aid agency OCHA.



On one hand they were annual rains flagged up in advance with forecasts of particularly heavy downpours, raising the question, said Kadapia, why officials were not better prepared.



&#8220;If only the authorities could find a solution in advance, so that every year it wasn&#8217;t just water, water, water and floods,&#8221; he said.



On the other, some of the inundations were not so predictable. Rains fell further north than usual, flooding desert areas that usually see little rainfall in Chad and elsewhere, exposing gaping holes in infrastructure and official preparedness plans.



Africa&#8217;s economic losses linked to&nbsp;floods&nbsp;have been rising. A&nbsp;report by&nbsp;the World Meteorological Organization, published in&nbsp;2021, said they jumped to $12.5 billion in 2010-19,&nbsp;more than double&nbsp;the&nbsp;average of the&nbsp;preceding three decades.



And experts say there is worse to come.



The Sahel is increasingly threatened by floods due to changes in natural climate patterns, greater rainfall intensity, poor urban planning and other causes, according to a 2021 study in the Journal of Hydrology, which noted that &#8220;widespread havoc and devastation are becoming commonplace&#8221;.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-we-lost-everything">&#8216;WE LOST EVERYTHING&#8217;</h2>



A year after that paper was published, West and Central Africa was swept by one of the worst seasonal flooding disasters on record with more than 8.5 million people affected across 20 countries, according to OCHA.



This season, intense heat over the Sahara and other factors pulled the monsoon belt further north than usual, causing downpours in usually arid desert areas, said Wassila Thiaw, deputy director of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration&#8217;s Climate Prediction Centre.



Compared with the 1991-2020 rainfall record, this July-September period was among the five wettest years in much of Niger, Chad and parts of western Mali.



Some areas in western Niger and Mali, and the border between Niger and Nigeria, saw more rainfall than in the calamitous 2022 season, Thiaw said.



Social media was awash with videos of roads turned to rivers, half-submerged trucks and&nbsp;displaced people desperately trying to salvage their belongings from flooded homes.



Mali declared a state of national disaster and pushed back the start of the academic year by a month as schools filled with families driven from their homes by the floods.



Grandmother Iya Kobla sought shelter after a river in the Mali&#8217;s capital Bamako burst its banks, swamped her fishing village in ankle-deep water, and destroyed some of its mud-built homes.



&#8220;We lost everything and now my grandchildren are all sick,&#8221; she said, next to makeshift beds on a school floor.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-critical-moment">A CRITICAL MOMENT</h2>



Some of these events were foreseeable. Climate experts say global warming has increased the frequency and intensity of rain. West Africa is also going through a decades-long natural cycle of wetter&nbsp;monsoons following prolonged drought from the 1970s to 1990s, NOAA&#8217;s Thiaw said.



In 2023, the WMO and other international organisations launched an action plan to improve early warning systems for impending natural disasters in Africa, which has the lowest rate of access to such systems of anywhere in the world.



However, data show that the vulnerable communities most in need of these warnings are often the worst equipped to act on them, Andrew Kruczkiewicz, senior researcher at Columbia University&#8217;s Climate School, said.



In Chad, more than 40% of the population live in poverty. Meagre resources are stretched further by the presence of 2 million refugees, many living in basic camps.



&#8220;It&#8217;s incomplete to say if there were an early warning system, that action would have been taken and impact would be averted &#8230; There are many other elements that must be addressed,&#8221; Kruczkiewicz said, referring to the need for a pre-agreed plan, funding, community buy-in and other essentials.



&#8220;We&#8217;re at a critical moment and the West and Central Africa case exemplifies that, because the (rain) forecasts were there.&#8221;



(Additional reporting by Idrissa Sangare in Bamako; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

A man carries bread as he walks towards a grocery store, on a flooded street in Bamako

Monsoon havoc exposes West and Central Africa’s rising flood risks

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="519" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/HWVA22ZQGVJL3J2BEPNBYS7R4M-820x519.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-536707" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/HWVA22ZQGVJL3J2BEPNBYS7R4M-820x519.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/HWVA22ZQGVJL3J2BEPNBYS7R4M-300x190.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/HWVA22ZQGVJL3J2BEPNBYS7R4M-142x90.jpg 142w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/HWVA22ZQGVJL3J2BEPNBYS7R4M-768x486.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/HWVA22ZQGVJL3J2BEPNBYS7R4M-1536x971.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/HWVA22ZQGVJL3J2BEPNBYS7R4M-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A drone view of Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station in Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Nottinghamshire, Britain September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Molly Darlington/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



Sept 30 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Abu Dhabi-based International Resources Holding (IRH) has signed an agreement with South Africa&#8217;s Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to invest in rail infrastructure and green energy projects, the two entities said on Monday.



IRH is a subsidiary of International Holding Company&nbsp;IHC.AD, the United Arab Emirates&#8217; (UAE) richest company, while the state-owned PIC is Africa&#8217;s largest asset manager. The PIC&#8217;s 2.89 trillion rand ($169 billion) assets under management include mining, agriculture, manufacturing, real estate and financial services investments.



IRH and PIC would cooperate on South Africa&#8217;s planned replacement of its coal-dominated power generation with cleaner sources of energy, they said in a joint statement, without giving details.



They would also seek to expand South Africa&#8217;s logistical capacity by addressing persistent freight rail and port bottlenecks which have throttled commodity exports.



South Africa&#8217;s state-owned logistics firm Transnet, which operates the country&#8217;s freight rail and ports, has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3K711G&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">struggled</a>&nbsp;to provide adequate services due to equipment shortages and maintenance backlogs after years of under-investment.



The agreement would also &#8220;bring underperforming and undeveloped mining assets&#8221; in South Africa to full production capacity, they said. They did not name the assets.



Earlier this year, IRH completed the acquisition of a 51% stake in Zambia&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3DH25C&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mopani Copper Mines</a>. The IRH has also been pursuing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3IV091&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">other copper assets</a>&nbsp;in Zambia as the UAE and seeks to secure critical metal supplies from Africa amid a global shift to cleaner energy.



The IRH also has operations or prospects in Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, according to its website.



($1 = 17.0983 rand)



(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

FILE PHOTO: A drone view of Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station in Ratcliffe-on-Soar

UAE’s IRH eyes mining, energy and logistics projects in South Africa

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/37HZYNFOE5LE3CMVPDV6SEO76Y-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-534695" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/37HZYNFOE5LE3CMVPDV6SEO76Y-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/37HZYNFOE5LE3CMVPDV6SEO76Y-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/37HZYNFOE5LE3CMVPDV6SEO76Y-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/37HZYNFOE5LE3CMVPDV6SEO76Y-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/37HZYNFOE5LE3CMVPDV6SEO76Y-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/37HZYNFOE5LE3CMVPDV6SEO76Y-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A turbine of the WindFloat Atlantic Project, a floating offshore wind-power generating platform, is seen 20 kilometres off the coast in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, September 23, 2021. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NEW YORK, (Reuters) &#8211; World leaders on Tuesday called for far more investment in renewable energy to tackle climate change, with developing nations saying they need financial support to make the transition.



Speaking at a Global Renewables Summit, Kenyan President William Ruto made the case for investing in renewables in Africa as part of the global pledge made at last year&#8217;s COP28 summit to triple clean energy capacity by 2030.



&#8220;Africa receives less than 50% of global investment in renewable energy despite being home to 60% of the world&#8217;s best solar opportunities,&#8221; Ruto told the summit, which is being held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly



The continent is rich in resources needed for development, he said, but can&#8217;t always access those resources due to the current mix of &#8220;unreliable or expensive energy.&#8221;



Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said that fossil fuel subsidies outnumber renewable energy subsidies, which makes it more expensive for small states to develop clean energy projects.



&#8220;Small states face the reality that the cost of renewable energy &#8230; will probably be higher than traditionally fossil fuels,&#8221; she said.



Recent reports, including one by the International Energy Agency, suggest that tripling the world&#8217;s renewable capacity is feasible within this decade. But the effort will require robust regulation including strong rules for issuing project permits as well as investments in building out transmission and battery storage.



Azerbaijan, which is hosting this year&#8217;s COP29 climate summit in November, said it was planning to rally governments to make a new global pledge to increase electricity storage sixfold.



Earlier in the day, a coalition of some of the world&#8217;s biggest companies, finance houses and cities called Mission 2025 urged governments to adopt policies that they said could unleash up to $1 trillion in clean energy investments by 2030. The policies include setting new capacity targets and offering tax credits or long-term electricity contracts that would encourage investment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-we-did-it">&#8220;WE DID IT&#8221;</h2>



Giving his final major speech on climate change at a forum attended by clean energy business leaders, U.S. President Joe Biden celebrated his $369 billion signature climate law.



&#8220;We were told it couldn&#8217;t get done and we did it,&#8221; he said of passing the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, adding that the legislation has since encouraged innovation and created hundreds of thousands of jobs.



&#8220;Private companies have announced investments of over $1 trillion in clean manufacturing,&#8221; he told the event. &#8220;We are just getting started.&#8221;



Some companies and investors are looking at artificial intelligence technologies with excitement for the solutions they might bring but there is also concern about the energy-intensive data centers that are needed to power them.



AI is &#8220;a problem, and it&#8217;s part of the solution,&#8221; Andres Gluski, the chief executive officer of U.S. power firm AES Corporation told Reuters in an interview.



&#8220;With AI, we could come up with new materials that are better for batteries, that are better than copper,&#8221; he said.



&#8220;If we have labor shortages, AI will help us. If we have to do demand management, AI will help us.&#8221;



(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Simon Jessop in New York; Additional reporting by Laila Kearney. Editing by Katy Daigle, David Evans, Aurora Ellis and Edwina Gibbs)

FILE PHOTO: A turbine of the WindFloat Atlantic Project, a floating offshore wind-power generating platform, is seen 20 kilometers off the coast in Viana do Castelo

World leaders call for investment in clean energy, developing nations seek help

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="548" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/S7AF7BNBK5OYLGLCXAI33SOPYA-820x548.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-527198" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/S7AF7BNBK5OYLGLCXAI33SOPYA-820x548.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/S7AF7BNBK5OYLGLCXAI33SOPYA-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/S7AF7BNBK5OYLGLCXAI33SOPYA-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/S7AF7BNBK5OYLGLCXAI33SOPYA-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/S7AF7BNBK5OYLGLCXAI33SOPYA-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/S7AF7BNBK5OYLGLCXAI33SOPYA.jpg 1616w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Simon Stiell, talks to the press on the sidelines of the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial, in Helsingor, Denmark March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Withers/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Sept 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The impact of global warming is costing African nations up to 5% of their economic output, the United Nations climate chief said on Thursday, calling for more investments to help adapt to climate change.



The 54-nation continent, which has borne the brunt of climate change despite releasing far less polluting emissions than the industrialised world, receives just 1% of annual global climate finance.



&#8220;The climate crisis is an economic sinkhole, sucking the momentum out of economic growth,&#8221; Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), told a meeting of African ministers of environment in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.



African governments and their climate negotiators are considering various strategies at the pre-COP29, or Conference of the Parties, preparatory meeting in the West African country.



Although the continent has attracted new investors in climate mitigation and adaptation projects in recent years, it gets a very small portion of the $100 billion in financing available globally, African government officials say.



That is a drop in the ocean of the $1.3 trillion required, the officials say, without providing a time frame for by when the amount would be needed.



&#8220;Africa&#8217;s vast potential to drive forward climate solutions is being thwarted by an epidemic of underinvestment,&#8221; Stiell said.



The required investments include $4 billion annually to eliminate the use of traditional fuel for cooking on the continent, such as wood, which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, Stiell said.



&#8220;Of the more than $400 billion spent on clean energy last year, only $2.6 billion went to African nations,&#8221; he said.



Climate change has been blamed for protracted drought and bouts of catastrophic flooding across Africa that have hit food production, driving up commodity prices and worsening hunger.



Stiell said there have been growing calls for Africa to secure more climate financing in the run-up to COP29 in Baku, where nations will be looking for consensus on new international climate finance goals.



&#8220;We must use innovative financing solutions for adaptation without exacerbating debt burdens,&#8221; Hanan Morsy, chief economist at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), told a climate finance conference last week.



Such innovations include debt refinancing and swaps as well as&nbsp;carbon markets, she said.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Climate ministers meet in Denmark ahead of COP29

Climate change costs Africa up to 5% of GDP, UN climate head says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Workers-inspect-the-Repository-in-ONKALO-a-deep-geological-disposal-underground-facility-designed-to-safely-store-nuclear-waste-on-May-2-2023-on-the-island-of-Eurajoki-western-Finland.webp" alt="Workers inspect the Repository in ONKALO, a deep geological disposal underground facility, designed to safely store nuclear waste, on May 2, 2023, on the island of Eurajoki, western Finland." class="wp-image-524629" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Workers-inspect-the-Repository-in-ONKALO-a-deep-geological-disposal-underground-facility-designed-to-safely-store-nuclear-waste-on-May-2-2023-on-the-island-of-Eurajoki-western-Finland.webp 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Workers-inspect-the-Repository-in-ONKALO-a-deep-geological-disposal-underground-facility-designed-to-safely-store-nuclear-waste-on-May-2-2023-on-the-island-of-Eurajoki-western-Finland-300x169.webp 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Workers-inspect-the-Repository-in-ONKALO-a-deep-geological-disposal-underground-facility-designed-to-safely-store-nuclear-waste-on-May-2-2023-on-the-island-of-Eurajoki-western-Finland-160x90.webp 160w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A worker walks at the turbine room linked to the OL3, the latest among three reactors at the nuclear power plant Olkiluoto on May 2, 2023, on the island of Eurajoki, western Finland. Jonathan Nackstrand | Afp | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Finland is on the cusp of burying spent nuclear fuel in the world’s first geological tomb, where it will be stored for 100,000 years.



The pioneering project has been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/finlands-spent-fuel-repository-a-game-changer-for-the-nuclear-industry-director-general-grossi-says" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hailed</a>&nbsp;as both a watershed moment for the long-term sustainability of nuclear energy and “a model for the entire world.”



At some point either next year or in early 2026, highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel will be packed in watertight canisters and deposited into bedrock more than 400 meters below the forests of southwest Finland.



The durable copper canisters will be isolated, separated from humans and kept underground for thousands of years.



“Onkalo,” which is the trademark name of the long-term disposal facility, is the Finnish word for a small cave or pit. It is an apt name for the repository, which sits atop a warren of tunnels and is situated next to three nuclear reactors on the island of Olkiluoto, approximately 240 kilometers from the capital of Helsinki.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="929" height="523" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-3.jpeg" alt="A worker walks at the turbine room linked to the OL3, the latest among three reactors at the nuclear power plant Olkiluoto on May 2, 2023, on the island of Eurajoki, western Finland. - Finland's next-generation Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor, the largest in Europe, has gone into regular production on April 16, 2023 after months of delays, hours after Germany ended its nuclear era. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP) (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)" class="wp-image-524636" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-3.jpeg 929w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-3-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-3-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-3-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-3-768x432.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A worker walks at the turbine room linked to the OL3, the latest among three reactors at the nuclear power plant Olkiluoto on May 2, 2023, on the island of Eurajoki, western Finland. Jonathan Nackstrand | Afp | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Established in 1995, Posiva is tasked with the responsibility of handling the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel rods at Onkalo. The Finnish company is jointly owned by nuclear power company TVO and utility Fortum.



“Basically, the Onkalo project is that we are building an encapsulation plant and disposal facility for spent fuel. And it’s not temporary, it’s for good,” Pasi Tuohimaa, head of communications for Posiva, told CNBC via videoconference.



Tuohimaa said the first-of-its-kind geological disposal facility had received a lot of interest from industry players, citing what he described as a nuclear “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/26/morgan-stanley-on-how-to-play-the-global-nuclear-power-renaissance.html">renaissance</a>” in recent years and an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/16/europes-energy-crisis-is-making-the-market-nervous-ahead-of-winter.html">energy crisis</a>&nbsp;that gripped Europe and parts of Asia from mid-2021 through to late 2022.



“Having a solution for the final disposal of spent fuel was like the missing part of the sustainable lifecycle for nuclear energy,” Tuohimaa said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-role-of-nuclear-power"><a></a>The role of nuclear power</h2>



The Onkalo project has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/22/nuclear-energy-the-answer-to-a-sustainable-future-experts-are-divided.html">stoked debate</a>&nbsp;about whether anyone can guarantee the long-term safety of spent nuclear waste and the extent to which atomic power should be used in the fight against the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/08/climate-world-surpasses-key-warming-threshold-across-an-entire-year.html">climate crisis</a>.



Nuclear energy currently provides about 9% of the world’s electricity,&nbsp;<a href="https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/nuclear-power-in-the-world-today" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the World Nuclear Association.



As it’s low-carbon, advocates&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/14/ukraine-war-europe-is-still-quietly-importing-russian-nuclear-energy.html">argue</a>&nbsp;that nuclear energy has the potential to play a significant role in helping countries generate electricity while slashing emissions and reducing their reliance on fossil fuels.



Some environmental groups, however,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/challenges/nuclear-power/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">say</a>&nbsp;the nuclear industry is an expensive and harmful distraction to cheaper and cleaner alternatives.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="929" height="523" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-2.jpeg" alt="Finland is poised to bury spent nuclear fuel in the world's first geological tomb. The Onkalo site is situated next to three nuclear reactors on the island of Olkiluoto in southwest Finland." class="wp-image-524635" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-2.jpeg 929w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-2-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-2-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-2-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-2-768x432.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Finland is poised to bury spent nuclear fuel in the world’s first geological tomb. The Onkalo site is situated next to three nuclear reactors on the island of Olkiluoto in southwest Finland. Credit: Posiva</figcaption></figure>



“I work both in nuclear waste disposal and nuclear accidents and I have experienced the best and worst of what the nuclear industry can offer,” Gareth Law, professor of radiochemistry at the University of Helsinki, told CNBC via videoconference.



“Clean energy, cheap energy, good baseload but then I have seen the bad side too, accidents, waste creation and the problems that we have there,” he continued.



“To have a country now that’s demonstrating that you can actually take this very dangerous waste that’s going to be here for 100,000-odd years into the future, and we actually have a disposal solution for it, I think that shows it can be done.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-finland-at-least-a-decade-ahead"><a></a>Finland ‘at least a decade ahead’</h2>



Law described the Onkalo project as a “big milestone” for both Finland and the international nuclear power industry.



“Posiva are very correct in selling this as a world first. It is going to be the first repository to take spent nuclear fuel and dispose of it in what I think is going to be a very safe and robust manner into the future.”



Law said that while many countries will want to follow in Finland’s footsteps when it comes to the geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel, the Nordic country is “at least a decade” ahead of neighboring Sweden, the next country that’s likely to achieve such a feat.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="929" height="523" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-1.jpeg" alt="Visitors are shown the Repository in ONKALO, a deep geological disposal underground facility, designed to safely store nuclear waste, on May 2, 2023, on the island of Eurajoki, western Finland. - Finland's next-generation Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor, the largest in Europe, has gone into regular production on April 16, 2023 after months of delays, hours after Germany ended its nuclear era. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP) (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)" class="wp-image-524634" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-1.jpeg 929w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-1-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-1-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-1-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-1-768x432.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Visitors are shown the Repository in ONKALO, a deep geological disposal underground facility, designed to safely store nuclear waste, on May 2, 2023, on the island of Eurajoki, western Finland. Jonathan Nackstrand | Afp | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



“Scientifically and engineering-wise, it is a very difficult thing to put it into place and to enact, but also politically, it is very, very difficult to get the impetus to do this disposal scenario,” Law said.



“There are many countries in the world that are still very much in the planning stages and even just trying to find somewhere to put the waste. So, the fact that Finland [has] built a repository now and in the next year or two we’re going to be operating it and start the disposal process … I don’t want to call it a miracle, but it wouldn’t be a bad way of framing it in the global context.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-model-for-the-entire-world"><a></a>‘A model for the entire world’</h2>



The Onkalo project is&nbsp;<a href="https://group.vattenfall.com/press-and-media/newsroom/2023/finland-to-open-the-worlds-first-final-repository-for-spent-nuclear-fuel" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">based</a>&nbsp;on the so-called “KBS-3” method developed by the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company, which is working on what could be the world’s second final repository.



KBS-3 is based on a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.posiva.fi/en/index/finaldisposal/releasebarriers.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">multi-barrier principle</a>, where several engineered barriers seek to ensure the long-term safety of the spent nuclear fuel. In practice, it means that if one of the barriers were to fail, the isolation of the radioactive waste is not compromised.



“It is a way to showcase that such a small nation sometimes is able to solve one of humankind’s maybe top 20 problems or challenges,” Finnish Climate Minister Kai Mykkänen told CNBC via videoconference.



“As we have seen during the past 10 years, nuclear seems to be required in a very important way for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/05/climate-eu-backlash-over-plans-to-label-nuclear-and-gas-as-green.html">green deal in Europe</a>&nbsp;… but especially if we want to see Asia and the U.S. get rid of fossil electricity production,” he added.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="929" height="523" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image.jpeg" alt="The Repository in ONKALO, a deep geological disposal underground facility, designed to safely store nuclear waste, is pictured on May 2, 2023, on the island of Eurajoki, western Finland. - Finland's next-generation Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor, the largest in Europe, has gone into regular production on April 16, 2023 after months of delays, hours after Germany ended its nuclear era. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP) (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)" class="wp-image-524633" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image.jpeg 929w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-768x432.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Repository in ONKALO, a deep geological disposal underground facility, designed to safely store nuclear waste, is pictured on May 2, 2023, on the island of Eurajoki, western Finland. Jonathan Nackstrand | Afp | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Asked whether the Onkalo project could be seen as a solution to the sustainability of nuclear waste, Mykkänen replied: “Yes, definitely.”



He added, “I am sure that the clear majority of the Finnish population, and also an even larger population near to Onkalo, they are seeing it in a similar way. People really see it as a solution that replaces more harmful energy.”



Mykkänen said he hoped the Onkalo project would be “a model for the entire world.”

Workers inspect the Repository in ONKALO, a deep geological disposal underground facility, designed to safely store nuclear waste, on May 2, 2023, on the island of Eurajoki, western Finland.

Finland will soon bury nuclear waste in a geological tomb that’s built to last for 100,000 years

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="548" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/U7UJE54KWRKWNHMXF7IAKVVUWM-820x548.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-515813" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/U7UJE54KWRKWNHMXF7IAKVVUWM-820x548.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/U7UJE54KWRKWNHMXF7IAKVVUWM-300x201.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/U7UJE54KWRKWNHMXF7IAKVVUWM-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/U7UJE54KWRKWNHMXF7IAKVVUWM-768x514.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/U7UJE54KWRKWNHMXF7IAKVVUWM-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/U7UJE54KWRKWNHMXF7IAKVVUWM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Township residents carry bottles collected from a municipal water tanker in drought-stricken Graaff-Reinet, South Africa, November 17, 2019. Picture taken November 17, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



HARARE, Aug 6 (Reuters) &#8211; The U.N. World Food Programme has faced challenges in raising $400 million for its southern Africa drought response, collecting just one-fifth of what it needs to help seven countries in the region, a WFP spokesperson said on Tuesday.



The funding environment had become increasingly difficult as&nbsp;drought has dramatically raised the region&#8217;s food needs, Thomson Phiri told Reuters.



Southern Africa is experiencing its worst drought in decades, forcing Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe to declare states of disaster. The drought was a result of the El Niño climate phenomenon,&nbsp;which can change world weather patterns, bring extreme seasonal temperatures, rainfall or dry spells and hurt crop yields.



About 70% of the Southern African population that relies on rain-fed agriculture had their harvests &#8220;wiped out&#8221; by lack of rains, Phiri told Reuters in May.



The WFP aims to&nbsp;use the proceeds raised so far to&nbsp;feed&nbsp;5.9 million out of 27&nbsp;million&nbsp;in the region who are food-insecure&nbsp;until the next harvest season in 2025, and had started sourcing white grain from Tanzania, South Africa and Latin America to feed regional communities.



Despite notable donor support, current food needs were &#8220;exceptionally high and outpacing available resources,&#8221; during a historical drought, Phiri said.



Some donors have had to trim their aid budgets and &#8220;people in places such as southern Africa are now facing&nbsp;a double whammy where they are reeling both from the historic drought and severe funding cuts,&#8221; he said.



The UN&#8217;s climate crisis coordinator for the El Niño response, Reena Ghelani, called for urgent action.



&#8220;We are very worried,&#8221; Ghelani told Reuters last week. &#8220;In fact we are seeing a sharp increase in the number of people going hungry.&#8221;



Ghelani warned of a prolonged dry spell and frequent droughts across the region in coming years as a result of climate change.



(Reporting by Nyasha Chingono; Editing by Tannur Anders and Bernadette Baum)

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UN agency raises just 20% of needed southern Africa drought aid in tough funding environment

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1203" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FarmerLifeLine_Edit_November06_125-scaled.webp" alt="" class="wp-image-514255" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FarmerLifeLine_Edit_November06_125-scaled.webp 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FarmerLifeLine_Edit_November06_125-300x176.webp 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FarmerLifeLine_Edit_November06_125-820x482.webp 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FarmerLifeLine_Edit_November06_125-153x90.webp 153w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FarmerLifeLine_Edit_November06_125-768x451.webp 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FarmerLifeLine_Edit_November06_125-1536x902.webp 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Farmer Marion Nyawira Mburu uses her phone to pay for FarmerLifeline crop pest detection device at her farm in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 6, 2023. Royal Academy of Engineering 2024/Handout via Thomson Reuters Foundation</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Aug 2 (Thomson Reuters Foundation)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Growing up in rural Nigeria, Adaeze Akpagbula spent her school years baby-sitting her family&#8217;s chicks through the night, adjusting the coal heater, food and water needed to keep the poultry, and the family income, alive.



Despite her best efforts, unpredictable temperatures, humidity and air quality changes led to the deaths of thousands of chicks, a lesson that would propel her to commit her life to making African farms more climate-resilient.



&#8220;Nigeria&#8217;s unprecedented rainfalls and weather patterns are not predictable, and with heat and cold stresses our birds were dying,&#8221; the 34-year-old agricultural engineer said in a telephone interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.



&#8220;We understand that innovation is pivotal to combating climate-related issues around food insecurity,&#8221; she said.



Akpagbula last year launched a remote-sensing device called PenKeep that monitors and controls environmental conditions in poultry farms. She is now extending the technology into aquaculture and greenhouse farms.



Alongside container farms in South Africa cultivating soldier flies for animal feed, solar-powered fish and crop dryers in Tanzania and machine-learning pest detectors in Kenya, Africans are coming up with innovative solutions to overcome the effects of climate change on food production.



Such solutions are going to be needed as Africa, according to a new United Nations report, is the continent most impacted by hunger.



Together with conflict and economic crises, climate shocks are leaving Africa at the epicentre of a hunger crisis, with one in five &#8211; some 300 million people &#8211; short of food.



It is also the continent most vulnerable to climate shocks, while contributing the least to carbon emissions.



&#8220;Current societal inequalities, such as resource constraints, make it even more difficult to source funds to adapt to these changes,&#8221; said Mulako Kabisa, from the Global Change Institute research platform at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.



&#8220;Home-grown solutions matter because they take into cognizance the local context &#8230; and what will be sustainable in the long run,&#8221; she said in emailed comments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sensors-and-solar">SENSORS AND SOLAR</h2>



PenKeep&#8217;s solar-powered device interprets data from sensors that monitor environmental changes including temperature, water levels and air quality in poultry coops. Farmers are alerted of condition changes through SMS, email or an alarm.



It is being used by more than 1,200 chicken farmers in western and northern Nigeria, with more than 100,000 chickens monitored in the company&#8217;s first six months. Subscriptions of around $15 a month make it more affordable for farmers, Akpagbula said.



Users can also use an artificial intelligence (AI) management app called FS Manager that provides farmers with information including management advice, weather updates and book-keeping services.



&#8220;Nigeria has millions of poultry farmers &#8230; but they are not producing enough &#8230; because they are spending so much on energy and they have a lot of poultry mortality as a result of their environment,&#8221; said Akpagbula.



Farmers using PenKeep have seen poultry mortality rates decrease by 72%, Akpagbula said.



In east Africa, Tanzanian Evodius Rutta also utilises the continent&#8217;s abundance of sun through his MAVUNOLAB Solar Dryer that helps subsistence fish processors and farmers rapidly dry out produce including fish, fruits and vegetables, preventing post-harvest food loss.



Small-scale fish processors at Lake Victoria in western Tanzania have begun using his dryer, reducing the drying time of 250 kg of fish from 12 hours to four.



Climate variability has led to erratic rains that can spoil up to 50% of fishermen&#8217;s harvests as they do not have access to cold storage, said Rutta, a sustainability researcher and MAVUNOLAB innovation hub founder.



&#8220;Because of the rains and high tides, it has also become very dangerous for fishermen that go to the sea and the lakes,&#8221; Rutta, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview.



&#8220;We need low-cost solutions for farmers to adapt to changing climate patterns because it&#8217;s going to be unavoidable,&#8221; Rutta said, adding that he was getting requests from farmers in Zimbabwe, Uganda and Kenya to use his invention.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pest-detection">PEST DETECTION</h2>



Climate change can impact environmental factors such as temperature and humidity that can in turn influence the life cycle and spread of crop pests, according to the U.N.&#8217;s Food and Agriculture Organization.



Pests are already responsible for at least 40% of crop loss worldwide.



Kenyan computer scientist Esther Kimani witnessed this first-hand growing up when pests decimated up to one-third of her family&#8217;s pea, potato and maize crops in the south of Kenya.



By the time the pests were detected, the destruction was so severe that even using pesticides became pointless.



Kimani was inspired to invent the Early Crop Pest and Disease Detection Device &#8211; a solar-powered tool that uses AI and machine learning-enabled cameras to rapidly detect and alert farmers of pests and diseases.



Kimani&#8217;s invention is being used by more than 5,000 farmers across Kenya since its launch in 2020. A group-leasing model reduces the cost to each farmer to $3 per month.



The device also advises farmers about which pesticides to use when, according to predicted climatic changes.



Kimani estimates that more than 3,000 acres of land have been protected from pest infestation by her invention.



She recently won the Royal Academy of Engineering&#8217;s African Prize for Engineering Innovation, for which Akpagbula and Rutta were also short-listed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-crisis">CLIMATE CRISIS</h2>



Some home-grown innovations are also focusing on protecting agricultural output while reducing carbon emissions.



South Africa&#8217;s Philafeed helps build tailor-made black soldier fly container farms. The fly larvae feed on food waste, diverting planet-heating methane emissions from landfills.



The larvae can also be used as a protein feed for livestock, reducing the need for carbon-intensive soya and fish meal.



The larvae manure, a byproduct known as frass, helps increase soil and plant tolerance against drought and flooding, and in turn can increase crop yield in times of climate uncertainty.



&#8220;Through black soldier flies we want farmers to be able to diversify their income if there is a failed season due to climate change,&#8221; said Maya Zaken, Philafeed co-founder.



Philafeed is currently piloting its new container model in Cape Town.



Despite initial funding challenges and struggles to get farmer buy-in, Akpagbula has faith that her innovation, alongside others on the continent, will soon become essential to farmers as climate shocks become more severe and more frequent.



&#8220;People always say why now? Why you doing this now?&#8221; said Akpagbula. &#8220;I tell them it&#8217;s because of the urgency of the climate crisis.&#8221;



(Reporting by Kim Harrisberg in Johannesburg; Editing by Jon Hemming. The Thomson Reuters Foundation is the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters.)

FarmerLifeLine_Edit_November06_125

Solar dry, soldier fly, AI: Africans fight hunger with innovation

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="960" height="608" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/MK64OLDHRZI2LCLTTB33FOO77I.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-422324" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/MK64OLDHRZI2LCLTTB33FOO77I.jpg 960w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/MK64OLDHRZI2LCLTTB33FOO77I-300x190.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/MK64OLDHRZI2LCLTTB33FOO77I-820x519.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/MK64OLDHRZI2LCLTTB33FOO77I-142x90.jpg 142w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/MK64OLDHRZI2LCLTTB33FOO77I-768x486.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"> Locals walk past electricity pylons during frequent power outages from South African utility Eskom, caused by its aging coal-fired plants, in Orlando, Soweto, South Africa, September 28, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



LUSAKA, Aug 1 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Zambia&#8217;s state-owned power utility ZESCO has agreed to buy 218 megawatts (MW) of electricity from South Africa and Zimbabwe to cushion a shortfall caused by reduced hydropower capacity, its energy minister said on Thursday.



Zambia has a deficit of more than 1,000 MW which is expected worsen as water levels at the key Kariba hydropower plant recede due to lower rainfall and drier conditions. Hydropower generates over 75% of Zambia&#8217;s installed capacity of 3,777 MW.



Energy Minister Makozo Chikote said the coal-fired Maamba Energy would also shut down for routine maintenance from the end of August into September, taking out a further 135 MW of power generation in Africa&#8217;s second-largest copper producer.



&#8220;ZESCO has negotiated the procurement of 218 MW of power from Eskom, South Africa and Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) to cushion the anticipated deficit,&#8221; Chikote said.



The electricity from the two neighbouring power utilities was expected to supply Zambia&#8217;s national grid this month, he said in a statement.



(Reporting by Chris Mfula; Editing by Wendell Roelf and Bernadette Baum)

MK64OLDHRZI2LCLTTB33FOO77I

Zambia to buy electricity from South Africa, Zimbabwe amid shortfall

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1292" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-scaled.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-416545" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-scaled.jpeg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-300x189.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-820x517.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-143x90.jpeg 143w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-768x484.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-1536x969.jpeg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A participant stands near a logo of World Bank at the International Monetary Fund &#8211; World Bank Annual Meeting 2018 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, October 12, 2018.
Johannes Christo | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, July 17 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The World Bank is looking to issue its first drought bond in the next 12-18-months and broaden its offering of catastrophe bonds supporting countries suffering devastation from storms and earthquakes, a senior executive at the lender said.



The drought bond would be a new instrument in the multilateral lender&#8217;s suite of so-called cat bonds &#8211; fixed income instruments that pay out to countries in the event of a natural disaster.



&#8220;We would love to do something in the drought space, that is something we are working on,&#8221; said George Richardson, director of the capital markets and investment department at the World Bank Treasury told Reuters, adding this would be most likely focussed on Africa.



The World Bank has arranged and issued cat bonds though its lending arm, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), to help emerging economies mitigate the fallout from storms and earthquakes for well over a decade. It has made $568 million of insurance payouts on these instruments.



The vast majority of the World Bank&#8217;s existing cat bonds cover countries in the Pacific and Caribbean regions, with Mexico dominating issuance.



The lender was now in talks with more countries to broaden the geographic scope, Richardson said.



Southern Africa is reeling from its worst drought in years, owing to a combination of naturally occurring El Nino &#8211; a warming of waters in the eastern Pacific leading to hotter weather across the world &#8211; and higher average temperatures produced by greenhouse gas emissions. This led to a number of record-breaking weather extremes last year.



Richardson said modelling droughts, wildfires and floods was a little more difficult than earthquakes or storms for a parametric cat bond, an instrument where triggers depend on physical parametres of an event.



&#8220;The fundamental challenge is that you need data, and you need to have some history of that so that it can be modelled by various agencies,&#8221; Richardson said.



The World Bank has also recently offered vulnerable, low income countries the option of introducing clauses into their borrowing from the Washington-based lender that would allow governments to defer repayments for up to two years if they were hit by a severe natural disaster.



So far, seven countries have signed up to the so-called Climate Resilient Debt Clauses (CRDC) &#8211; Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Montenegro.



&#8220;Some of these are evaluating whether they should activate this clause after hurricane Beryl but so far, no decision has been made from what we know,&#8221; said Richardson.



Beryl left a trail of devastation across several Caribbean islands earlier this month, destroying as many as 90% of homes in parts of Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.



(Reporting by Karin Strohecker and Marc Jones; Editing by Mark Potter)

106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report

World Bank eyes first ‘drought’ bond in next 12-18 months

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/HYOZR4V5OFMSPNBFMBMKEZUGSQ-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-495992" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/HYOZR4V5OFMSPNBFMBMKEZUGSQ-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/HYOZR4V5OFMSPNBFMBMKEZUGSQ-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/HYOZR4V5OFMSPNBFMBMKEZUGSQ-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/HYOZR4V5OFMSPNBFMBMKEZUGSQ-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/HYOZR4V5OFMSPNBFMBMKEZUGSQ-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/HYOZR4V5OFMSPNBFMBMKEZUGSQ-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A girl carries a jerrycan filled with water at a Tolou Keur garden in the Walalde department of Podor, in the Great Green Wall of the Sahara and the Sahel area, Senegal, July 11, 2021. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON/DAKAR, June 12 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Africa&#8217;s Great Green Wall, which is meant to restore degraded landscapes and boost economies across the continent, is low on cash and unlikely to meet a 2030 completion goal, the president of the most recent UN summit on desertification told Reuters.



Launched in 2007, the project to reinstate 100 million hectares of land is only 30% complete, said Alain Richard Donwahi, president of the 2022 U.N. summit held in the Ivory Coast, who has access to the analysis of how it is progressing.



The project aims to restore an 8,000 kilometre-long (500 mile-long) corridor from the Atlantic to the Red Sea and benefits some of the world&#8217;s poorest countries at the edge of the Sahara Desert, including Ethiopia, Mali and Sudan.



&#8220;It is an understatement to stress that we are not in line with our common objective to complete by 2030,&#8221; Donwahi said on the sidelines of this month&#8217;s Bonn Climate Change Conference, where he was seeking renewed support for the landmark project.



&#8220;The project faces substantial challenges, primarily in terms of financing and implementation,&#8221; said Donwahi, who serves as president of the U.N. summit on desertification until the next one in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December.



With no centralised monitoring entity in charge of the project, coordinating the work across the 11 African countries involved has been especially challenging, Donwahi said.



Meanwhile, some of those countries have been beset by humanitarian crises in recent years fuelled by military coups, war, or Islamist insurgencies.



The project was estimated to need at least $33 billion more funding to achieve its 2030 target, according to a progress review in 2020 by the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which has provided occasional implementation reports.



International donors pledged some $19 billion at a 2021 summit, but by March of last year, only $2.5 billion had come through, with the rest due by end-2025, according to the most recent funding update from the UNCCD.



Those pledged funds are also being spread across different projects that may be dedicated to international development, but not necessarily to the Great Green Wall, Donwahi said.



The difficulty keeping track of funding so far has been a key stumbling block, he added, welcoming the launch in June of an &#8216;observatory&#8217; to monitor financing and progress.



Even so, it is unclear where the project will get the remaining billions needed to get back on track. Donwahi said more investment would be needed from international donors, the private sector and Green Wall countries themselves.



Donwahi noted some progress, including 3 million jobs created in the restoration of the some 30 million hectares (74 million acres) of degraded land, roughly equivalent to the size of the Philippines.



With climate change escalating, though, the issue was increasingly a problem the wider world needs to face, said Donwahi, adding: &#8220;For too long, desertification and drought have been considered African problems&#8221;.



(Editing by Katy Daigle and Alexander Smith)

FILE PHOTO: Senegalese plant circular gardens in Green Wall defence against desert

Africa’s Great Green Wall to miss 2030 goal says UN desertification president

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GC7HNKWOIJJN5O747ZM3TPIJOA-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-484761" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GC7HNKWOIJJN5O747ZM3TPIJOA-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GC7HNKWOIJJN5O747ZM3TPIJOA-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GC7HNKWOIJJN5O747ZM3TPIJOA-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GC7HNKWOIJJN5O747ZM3TPIJOA-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GC7HNKWOIJJN5O747ZM3TPIJOA-1536x804.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GC7HNKWOIJJN5O747ZM3TPIJOA.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The skeleton of a fish is seen in the Navarro lagoon, which dried up due to the climate phenomenon La Nina, in Navarro, in Buenos Aires province, Argentina December 5, 2022. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



May 9 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The El Nino weather pattern should fade out by June but could be replaced by the La Nina phenomenon by the second half of the year, a U.S. government forecaster said on Thursday.



There is a 49% chance that the La Nina weather pattern may develop during the June to August period, rising to 69% in July-September, the National Weather Service&#8217;s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) said in its monthly forecast.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-it-s-important">WHY IT&#8217;S IMPORTANT</h2>



The cycle between the weather patterns &#8212; which can spawn wildfires, tropical cyclones and prolonged droughts &#8212; is vital to farmers worldwide.



In Latin America, they have affected crops such as wheat, soy and corn, damaging regional economies often highly dependent on farming.



Hot, dry weather in Asia during El Nino last year prompted top rice supplier&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N3ES0O6&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">India</a>&nbsp;to restrict exports following a poor monsoon, while wheat output in No.2 exporter Australia took a hit. But heavier rains in parts of the Americas boosted farm output prospects in Argentina and the southern U.S. Plains.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-context">CONTEXT</h2>



The full weather pattern involving El Nino, La Nina and a neutral phase typically lasts between two to seven years.



Experts have warned that Latin American nations must be on high alert as a rapid switch to La Nina this time could leave populations and crops little time to recover.



Australia&#8217;s weather bureau said last month that the El Nino event has ended.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-quotes">KEY QUOTES</h2>



&#8220;La Nina is likely to affect the production of wheat and corn in the US, and soybean, barley, wheat and corn in Latin America including Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay,&#8221; said Sabrin Chowdhury, head of commodities at BMI.



&#8220;The weather phenomenon is associated with long-lasting droughts throughout the Americas region, triggering poor crop quality and a drop in average yields, further exacerbating global supply issues.&#8221;



(Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee and Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru, Editing by Rosalba O&#8217;Brien)

GC7HNKWOIJJN5O747ZM3TPIJOA

El Nino to end by June, La Nina seen in second half of 2024, says U.S. forecaster

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-2150650304-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-481198" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-2150650304-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-2150650304-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-2150650304-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-2150650304-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-2150650304-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-2150650304-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">NAIROBI, KENYA &#8211; APRIL 29: Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank, speaks to the audience during the IDA for Africa Heads of State Summit on April 29, 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo by Patrick Meinhardt/Getty Images for Global Citizen)</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, April 29 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;African leaders on Monday called for rich countries to commit record contributions to a low-interest World Bank facility for developing nations that they rely on to help fund their development and combat climate change.



Donors will make their cash pledges to the International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank institution that offers loans with low interest rates and long tenures, at a conference to be held in Japan in December.



&#8220;We call on our partners to meet us at this historic moment of solidarity and respond effectively by increasing their IDA contributions&#8230; to at least $120 billion,&#8221; Kenya&#8217;s President William Ruto told a meeting of African leaders and the World Bank to discuss IDA funding.



African economies were facing a &#8220;deepening development and debt crisis that threatens our economic stability, and urgent climate emergencies that demand immediate and collective action for our planet&#8217;s survival,&#8221; Ruto said.



He cited Kenya&#8217;s own devastating floods and a severe drought affecting Southern African nations such as Malawi.



If the donors pledge the minimum amount suggested by African leaders, it will be a new high after the last round of fundraising in 2021, which raked in $93 billion.



IDA lending operates on a three-year cycle, which is usually preceded by donors making their contributions at a global meeting.



IDA offers low interest rates loans to 75 developing nations around the world, the World Bank said, with more than half of them in Africa.



The funding is used by governments to boost access to energy and healthcare, invest in farming and also build critical infrastructure such as roads.



Ajay Banga, the president of the World Bank, promised to cut down &#8220;burdensome&#8221; rules that govern lending to nations under the IDA, to make it more efficient and to deliver funds to borrower nations faster.



&#8220;We believe a simpler and reimagined IDA can be deployed with more focus to make meaningful impact,&#8221; he said.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by George Obulutsa and Alex Richardson)

IDA for Africa Heads of State Summit

African leaders seek record World Bank financing to combat climate change

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="550" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QASBB3K3FJKGZCBL7XYAB5FYUA-820x550.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-472496" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QASBB3K3FJKGZCBL7XYAB5FYUA-820x550.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QASBB3K3FJKGZCBL7XYAB5FYUA-300x201.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QASBB3K3FJKGZCBL7XYAB5FYUA-134x90.jpg 134w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QASBB3K3FJKGZCBL7XYAB5FYUA-768x515.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QASBB3K3FJKGZCBL7XYAB5FYUA-1536x1030.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QASBB3K3FJKGZCBL7XYAB5FYUA-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Wind turbines produce renewable energy outside Caledon, South Africa, May 20, 2020. Picture taken May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, April 2 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;China has a unique opportunity to drive forward an energy revolution in Africa, but it must first reverse nearly two decades of neglect of green power investments there, research from Boston University showed on Tuesday.



Beijing has emerged as the continent&#8217;s biggest bilateral trading partner since the start of the century and has financed billions of dollars worth of large-scale infrastructure projects.



Three years ago, China&#8217;s President Xi Jinping said the country would not build new coal-fired power projects abroad, pledging to deal with climate change by supporting the development of green and low-carbon energy.



Although Africa&#8217;s green energy potential is one of the highest in the world, Chinese lending and investment has so far provided relatively little support for the continent&#8217;s energy transition, according to a report from Boston University&#8217;s Global Development Policy Center and the African Economic Research Consortium.



Lending for renewables, such as solar and wind, from China&#8217;s two main development finance institutions constituted just 2% of their $52 billion of energy loans from 2000 to 2022, while more than 50% is allocated to fossil fuels.



&#8220;Given current economic challenges and future energy opportunities, China can play a role in contributing to Africa&#8217;s energy access and transition through trade, finance and FDI (foreign direct investment),&#8221; the report said.



Chinese development finance institutions have been focused on investing in the extraction and export of commodities to China and in electrification projects.



Chinese lending has targeted many of the same sectors that produce the oil and minerals that flow back to China.



At least eight hydropower projects financed by the Export-Import Bank of China (CHEXIM), which represent 26% of all hydropower lending, are intended to support the extraction of various metals.



&#8220;Although this track has led to export revenues for African economies, African countries are not yet receiving the full benefits of renewable energy technologies,&#8221; the report said.



In 2022, fossil fuels accounted for around 75% of total electricity generation in Africa and about 90% of energy consumption, the report said.



(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian, Editing by Rachel Savage and Ros Russell)

FILE PHOTO: Wind turbines produce renewable energy outside Caledon

China could drive Africa’s renewable energy revolution, report says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/107355897-1704798506588-gettyimages-1246816913-AFP_338K67C-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-444650" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/107355897-1704798506588-gettyimages-1246816913-AFP_338K67C-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/107355897-1704798506588-gettyimages-1246816913-AFP_338K67C-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/107355897-1704798506588-gettyimages-1246816913-AFP_338K67C-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/107355897-1704798506588-gettyimages-1246816913-AFP_338K67C-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/107355897-1704798506588-gettyimages-1246816913-AFP_338K67C-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/107355897-1704798506588-gettyimages-1246816913-AFP_338K67C-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Greece has been struggling with forest fires that could not be controlled for 10 days on July 27, 2023 in Rhodes, Greece. Dia Images | Getty Images News | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Scientists on Tuesday confirmed 2023 as the hottest year on record and warned that the planet is now within touching distance of smashing through the critical warming threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius.



The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said 2023, a year in which one researcher described temperature anomalies as “absolutely gobsmackingly bananas,” was the warmest calendar year in global temperature data stretching back to 1850.



The 12-month period ended with a global average temperature of 14.98 degrees Celsius, almost 0.2 degree Celsius higher than the previous record set in 2016.



Extreme heat is fueled by the climate crisis, the chief driver of which is the burning of fossil fuels.



Scientists at C3S said 2023 was the first time on record that every day within a year surpassed 1 degree Celsius above the preindustrial reference period of 1850 to 1900, while nearly 50% of days were over 1.5 degrees Celsius.



What’s more, the EU’s climate change service said two days in November were found to have surpassed 2 degrees Celsius for the first time ever.



Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S, said in a statement Tuesday that 2023 was “an exceptional year with climate records tumbling like dominoes.”



The findings come after repeated warnings in recent years about the likelihood of the world climbing above the aspirational goal of the landmark Paris Agreement.



The 2015 accord aims to “limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels” and calls for countries to take concerted climate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming.



The importance of the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold is widely recognized as an indicator of the point at which climate impacts become increasingly harmful for people and the planet.



The world has already warmed by around 1.1 degrees Celsius after over a century of burning fossil fuels as well as unequal and unsustainable energy and land use. Indeed, it is this temperature increase that is fueling a series of extreme weather events around the world.

107355897-1704798506588-gettyimages-1246816913-AFP_338K67C

Hottest year on record puts Earth in touching distance of critical warming threshold, scientists say

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GTR4FRR34RIYHMTLPBM4CQTLEI-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-435831" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GTR4FRR34RIYHMTLPBM4CQTLEI-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GTR4FRR34RIYHMTLPBM4CQTLEI-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GTR4FRR34RIYHMTLPBM4CQTLEI-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GTR4FRR34RIYHMTLPBM4CQTLEI-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GTR4FRR34RIYHMTLPBM4CQTLEI-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GTR4FRR34RIYHMTLPBM4CQTLEI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Firefighters tackle fire in a field as forest fires ravage the Bolivian Amazon, in San Buenaventura, Bolivia November 22, 2023. REUTERS/Claudia Morales//File Photo</figcaption></figure>



DUBAI, Dec 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;How to adapt to the impacts of climate change was one of the many difficult questions addressed at the COP28 talks in Dubai &#8211; and how to pay for it has yet to be answered.



The final deal from the U.N. climate summit in Dubai on Wednesday was vague on where much-needed finance would come from &#8211; a topic picked up by a number of countries as they commented on the deal.



&#8220;Adaptation is really a life and death issue,&#8221; the Bangladesh climate envoy Saber Hossain Chowdhury said. &#8220;We cannot compromise on adaptation. We cannot compromise on lives and livelihoods.&#8221;



So finance should be &#8220;geared to delivering the resources that we need,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s absolutely fundamental.&#8221;



A source involved in the talks said a push for firmer action had been hampered by the need to agree a new overall climate finance target next year. The current $100 billion annual target &#8211; which had been missed in the past &#8211; expires in 2025.



Despite that, the source said delegates had increasingly acknowledged adaptation finance was not just about moving &#8220;chunks of money north to south&#8221;, but part of a wider discussion about what a country&#8217;s economy would look like in the future.



As a result, a requirement in the final deal for countries to deliver a national adaptation plan by 2030 &#8211; 51 countries have already done so &#8211; should, in theory, help the available money get to where it is needed most.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-significant-start">&#8216;SIGNIFICANT START&#8217;</h2>



Despite concern around the lack of commitment to provide more money, Singapore&#8217;s environment minister said she was glad the topic had risen up the agenda.



&#8220;As a small island state we struggled with adaptation for many editions of COP,&#8221; said Grace Fu, so the inclusion of more focused language in the final deal text was &#8220;a very significant start for us&#8221;.



The sharper focus followed a landmark November U.N. report showing that developing nations would need up to 18 times more funding than they currently receive to build resilience into their economies to withstand the impacts of climate change.



The annual financing shortfall for adaptation was as much as $366 billion, compared with the $25 billion provided during the 2017-2021 period, the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) said.



David Nicholson, chief climate officer at humanitarian NGO Mercy Corps, called the report a &#8220;wake-up call&#8221;.



Yet money flows remain sluggish. The biggest news announced at COP28 was a commitment of $3 billion in new money from the United States to the Green Climate Fund, which aims to put at least half of its investment dollars into adaptation projects.



&#8220;At COP28, the international community made progress in righting the scales,&#8221; GCF chief Mafalda Duarte told Reuters, pointing to a total of $12.8 billion in new capital raised for the fund to support climate action across the developing world.



&#8220;It must mobilise global solidarity with those countries least prepared to safeguard communities from climate impacts.&#8221;



A U.N. Adaptation Fund, though, had only raised around half of the $300 million it had hoped to reach in 2023 by the end of the conference.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hurdles">HURDLES</h2>



For many private investors, the hurdles include working out how to make a profit from projects, even though failure to finance adaptation could ultimately impact their other investments.



&#8220;Lenders are finding it challenging to see the returns that can be made in this sector. There are insufficient incentives for lenders at the moment,&#8221; John Shum, partner at law firm King &amp; Wood Mallesons, said.



The areas where investors could do more include helping to bolster natural ecosystems in exchange for valuable carbon credits or building climate-resilient infrastructure. Others are also investing in bonds linked to protecting nature.



Regulators also need to force companies to disclose their exposure to the physical risks of climate change and to reward those taking action to reduce their exposure through better credit ratings and lower capital requirements, said Rowan Douglas, CEO, at Howden Climate Risk and Resilience.



&#8220;Without it, there is limited economic rationale or reward for investing in adaptation.&#8221;



For Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, mayor of the Sierra Leone capital Freetown, among the most vulnerable cities in Africa as it faces floods and coastal erosion, adaptation and mitigation, such as greening energy supplies, needed to be considered together.



&#8220;Making too fine a distinction just makes for division. We&#8217;re at the point now where we should be addressing the climate crisis and the funding should be what it is.&#8221;



(Reporting by Simon Jessop, David Stanway, Kate Abnett; Editing by Katy Daigle and Barbara Lewis)

FILE PHOTO: Firefighters tackle fire in a field as forest fires ravage the Bolivian Amazon, in San Buenaventura

COP28 calls for adapting to warmer world without resolving how to pay

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="599" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IU3FWJ6GIFLSZJZKHJ6VYDSSLM-820x599.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-432717" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IU3FWJ6GIFLSZJZKHJ6VYDSSLM-820x599.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IU3FWJ6GIFLSZJZKHJ6VYDSSLM-300x219.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IU3FWJ6GIFLSZJZKHJ6VYDSSLM-123x90.jpg 123w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IU3FWJ6GIFLSZJZKHJ6VYDSSLM-768x561.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IU3FWJ6GIFLSZJZKHJ6VYDSSLM-1536x1122.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IU3FWJ6GIFLSZJZKHJ6VYDSSLM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: &#8216;COP28 UAE&#8217; logo is displayed on the screen during the opening ceremony of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) under the theme of &#8216;United on Climate Action Toward COP28&#8217;, in Abu Dhabi, UAE, January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Rula Rouhana/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



DUBAI, Dec 4 (Reuters) &#8211; Money pledges grabbed the spotlight again at COP28 in Dubai on Monday as delegates turned their focus to the yawning gap in the need for climate finance and what&#8217;s on offer.



The United Arab Emirates, the host of this year&#8217;s conference, pledged $270 billion in green finance by 2030 through its banks, and several development banks made fresh moves to scale up their funding efforts, including by agreeing to pause debt repayments when disaster strikes.



But leaders of the region&#8217;s biggest economy and the world&#8217;s biggest oil producer Saudi Arabia have so far not attended the U.N. summit, in sharp contrast to their participation in last year&#8217;s COP27 conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.



On Monday, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, energy minister and the key climate negotiator, for the kingdom, was a no-show at the Saudi Green Initiative. De facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman also did not deliver a speech to world leaders as scheduled on Friday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vast-needs">VAST NEEDS</h2>



The amount of cash needed for the energy transition, climate adaptation and disaster relief is overwhelming.



A report released Monday estimated that emerging markets and developing countries will need $2.4 trillion a year in investment to cap emissions and adapt to the challenges posed by climate change.



&#8220;The world is not on track to realise the goals of the Paris Agreement. The reason for this failure is a lack of investment, particularly in emerging market and developing countries outside China,&#8221; said co-author Nicholas Stern, chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.



&#8220;The central challenge is to accelerate and implement the fostering and financing of this investment from a range of sources.&#8221;



Vulnerable countries that are already being hit by costly climate disasters are asking for billions more through a newly formed disaster fund, although current pledges are only around $700 million.



&#8220;Unless we have an urgent set of decision-making, we are going to suffer what every parent suffers from &#8211; exciting expectations and being unable to deliver,&#8221; said Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who has become a prominent voice in global discussions about mobilising climate finance.



In a news conference, she urged countries to go beyond voluntary pledges and pleas to charities and private investors and instead to consider taxes as a way to boost climate funding.



A global 0.1% tax on financial services, for example, could raise $420 billion, she said, while a 5% tax on global oil and gas profits in 2022 would have yielded around $200 billion.



&#8220;The planet needs global governance not in a big stick way, but in a simple way of us cooperating with each other to be able to work with the institutions that we have,&#8221; she added.



Other delegates, including U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, have called for an end to fossil fuel subsidies which have hit a record $7 trillion per year.



Activists with the Asian Peoples&#8217; Movement on Debt and Development said they worried the sums pledged would be inadequate.



&#8220;The climate finance that they have pledged at this COP28 is simply not enough,&#8221; said Pakistani activist Zaigham Abbas, whose country was devastated last year by widespread flooding. &#8220;We are not looking for charity here. We are not looking for peanuts &#8230; The scale of the catastrophe that we are staring is unprecedented.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moving-money">MOVING MONEY</h2>



The biggest pledge on Monday came from the UAE&#8217;s banking system, joining peers in other regions in pledging to lend more to green projects. It followed a Friday pledge of $30 billion for climate-related projects from the oil producing Gulf state.



Elsewhere, France and Japan said they would support a move by the African Development Bank to leverage IMF Special Drawing Rights for climate and development.



The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, meanwhile, said it would include climate resilient debt clauses in new loan deals with some poorer countries.



Danish investment firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners announced plans to raise $3 billion for renewable projects in emerging markets.



This year also features the biggest-ever representation of business at the annual U.N. summit, amid hopes for more private investment toward climate causes.



The emirate of Abu Dhabi teamed up with private sector partners including BlackRock and HSBC to launch a climate research and advisory hub to boost financing options in the region.



&#8220;The scale of the climate crisis demands urgent and game-changing solutions from every industry,&#8221; COP28 President Ahmed Al-Jaber said. &#8220;Finance plays a critical role in turning our ambitions into actions.&#8221;



For daily comprehensive coverage on COP28 in your inbox, sign up for the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter here.



(Reporting by Simon Jessop, Maha El Dahan and Hadeel Al Sayegh; Additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell, Elizabeth Piper and David Stanway; Editing by Katy Daigle and Miral Fahmy)

FILE PHOTO: ‘COP28 UAE’ logo is displayed on the screen during the opening ceremony of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) under the theme of ‘United on Climate Action Toward COP28’, in Abu Dhabi

Climate finance takes centre stage at COP28 climate talks

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1815432571-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-431887" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1815432571-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1815432571-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1815432571-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1815432571-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1815432571.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Attendees arrive at the Blue Zone on day three of the COP28 climate conference at Expo City in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. More than 70,000 politicians, diplomats, campaigners, financiers and business leaders will fly to Dubai to talk about arresting the world&#8217;s slide toward environmental catastrophe. Photographer: Annie Sakkab/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Dubai &#8211; The annual United Nations Climate Summit, known as COP28, is underway in Dubai, focusing on targeted action to address climate change and create a sustainable future for the planet. With over 100,000 participants, including global leaders and heads of states, this year&#8217;s event has become the most attended COP ever.



During the first day of the conference, an agreement was reached on the implementation of the <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/media/6342094936112/loss-damage-fund-implementation-tops-africas-agenda-at-cop28-/">Loss and Damages Fund,</a> which aims to raise funds to protect vulnerable countries and support their adaptation to climate change. The initial target was set at $200 million, but pledges have already exceeded $400 million. According to the COP28 President, Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, this outcome demonstrates the commitment of world leaders to addressing the climate crisis.



In an<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/media/6342161646112/cop28-president-on-africas-progress-in-energy-transition/"> interview with CNBC Africa</a>, Al-Jaber also highlighted the <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2023/africa-climate-summit-opens-with-focus-on-financing-continental-unity/">Africa Climate Summit</a> that took place in Nairobi before COP28. He commended the summit for its unique platform and emphasized the role it played in shaping COP28&#8217;s strategy and objectives. He stated that Africa&#8217;s political will and hands-on experience were instrumental in formulating an action-oriented agenda to address global challenges and keep the target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach.



To support Africa&#8217;s energy transition, Al-Jaber announced the launch of a $4.5 billion fund that aims to replicate the success of the renewable energy projects implemented by Mazdar over the past 17 years. The fund, backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will provide equity and development funding to attract private capital and mitigate risks, ensuring the security of investments in renewable energy projects across the continent. Al-Jaber projected that the fund, which has already started deploying $4.5 billion, will reach a total of $25 billion in the next three years.



The fund&#8217;s objective is to address Africa&#8217;s growing energy needs, stimulate economic development, create jobs, attract industries, and transfer knowledge and technology. Al-Jaber emphasized the importance of supporting the entire value chain of businesses involved in renewable energy projects, from manufacturing to supply chain resilience.



The COP28 President also praised Kenyan President William Ruto for his efforts in climate action, highlighting the unprecedented progress made in the country. These efforts align with the agenda of COP28 and contribute to advancing the energy transition in Africa and achieving global sustainability goals.



With Africa&#8217;s abundant renewable energy potential and increasing demand, the continent represents a significant opportunity for investment and development. The establishment of the $4.5 billion fund and the commitment of world leaders at COP28 demonstrate the international community&#8217;s recognition of Africa&#8217;s role in the energy transition and the urgent need to support sustainable development in the region.

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