Ireland and Austria have joined the African Development Bank’s (AfDB’s) Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF) with contributions of €2-million and €1-million, respectively, to support the fund’s work.

The ACCF is a multidonor trust fund that backs the AfDB group’s target of tripling its climate financing and advancing Africa’s climate resilience.

The two countries joined the ACCF in late 2022, bringing its current donors to seven. The other donors are the governments of Italy, Flanders (Belgium) and Quebec (Canada), as well as Global Affairs Canada and the Global Center on Adaptation. 

AfDB climate change and green growth director Professor Anthony Nyong welcomed Ireland and Austria as donors to the ACCF.

“These new funds will enable the ACCF to support the preparation and strengthening of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and long-term strategies in African countries and to support projects already identified through ACCF’s third call for proposals,” Nyong said.

Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance director-general Harald Waiglein expressed his country’s commitment to tackling climate change with a strong focus on adaptation.

In a letter to the AfDB, Waiglein said the Federal Ministry of Finance of Austria decided to contribute to the ACCF to support activities of the Africa NDC Hub, including the development and update of NDCs and long-term climate strategies of African countries.

“We consider these strategies essential to combat climate change and further sustainable development,” he added.

Ireland International Development and the Diaspora Minister Sean Fleming said Ireland was committed to supporting communities across Africa to deal with the impacts of climate change.

He said a focus on adaptation and support to African countries continued to be at the core of Ireland’s engagement in climate action.

Fleming added that Ireland planned to more than double its climate finance to developing countries by 2025.

“This contribution to the ACCF has a strong focus on climate adaptation and is another indication of how Ireland supports the drive for a climate-resilient Africa,” he said.

The AfDB established the ACCF in April 2014 with initial financing of €4.72-million from Germany.

The ACCF’s mission is to support African countries in building their resilience to the negative impacts of climate change and transition to sustainable low-carbon growth.

The ACCF was converted to a multidonor trust fund in 2017 with contributions from the governments of Flanders and Italy. The current value of the trust fund is $28.8-million.

Since its inception, the ACCF has approved 27 grants worth $16.89-million and completed seven projects that have helped build capacity to access international climate finance in over 26 African countries.

The ACCF projects have also enabled countries to mobilise climate finance and implement small-scale adaptation strategies to enhance climate resilience.

The ACCF supports projects through competitive calls for proposals and a demand-driven window. These new funds will be channelled through these windows.