The 58th Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and the 49th Meetings of the Board of Governors of AfDB have on Monday kicked off in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh. The theme of the five-day meetings is encouraging the private sector to fund climate-friendly and green projects in Africa, and they will have discussions on the global financial architecture and the role of multilateral development banks in development, said the AfDB. The meetings will also include discussions about innovative financial solutions to boost private climate investments in Africa and achieve sustainable development in the continent. "Africa needs up to $145.5 billion a year until 2030 to close its annual climate finance gap," said AfDB's acting Chief Economist and Vice-President, Kevin Urama. Egypt has played a key role in supporting African efforts to tackle climate change and secure green funding, by introducing seven initiatives to address climate change and push for energy transition in Africa during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27). COP27, which was held in Sharm El-Sheikh last November, also featured the signing of a loss and damage fund to aid vulnerable countries greatly impacted by climate disasters. Egypt is also working on reducing carbon emissions by 33 percent in the electricity sector, 65 percent in the oil and gas sector, and seven percent in the transportation sector by 2030. Egypt's carbon reduction plans are built on increasing its dependency on renewable energy by 42 percent.
