KATIMA MULILO – As the Green Climate Fund (GCF) marked its 10th anniversary at COP30 in Belém recently, Namibia has become a clear example of how climate finance can change both landscapes and livelihoods.
While the fund reflected on a decade of global impact, ranging from mobilising US$ 78.6 billion (roughly N$1.35 trillion) in co-financing to supporting 249 million people worldwide, Namibia’s achievements highlight what community-driven climate action can accomplish when combined with targeted investment.
This is included in the latest report on GCF’s 10th anniversary, presented during the recently concluded COP30 in Brazil.
Since 2015, Namibia has been a leading example of locally driven adaptation, thanks to GCF’s US$ 10 million (about N$172 million) Empower to Adapt project.
Operating across 13 conservancies and community forests, the initiative gives communities direct access to climate resources, an approach GCF Executive Director Mafalda Duarte highlighted as central to the fund’s mission.
“Investing in resilience is not only about managing climate risks,” Duarte noted during COP30.
“It’s about creating jobs, strengthening communities, and securing a sustainable future for countries like Namibia that are on the front lines of climate change.” Namibia’s results are striking, with over 109 000 people supported, including 60% women. Equally, Namibia has shown that it has more than 9 million hectares of degraded savannah restored, strengthening both ecosystems and biodiversity.
The country also prides itself on creating over 1 100 jobs, alongside the empowerment of 155 local organisations through climate governance and resource management.
From solar-powered water systems to bush-to-feed technologies and community-led forest management, Namibia has demonstrated how adaptation can simultaneously drive economic opportunity and ecological restoration.
Local leaders emphasise that the project’s success hinges on ownership: planning, decision-making, and implementation originate from the community level upward, not the other way around. Namibia’s experience is also shaping national policy and informing broader GCF investment in agriculture, infrastructure, and tourism.
It complements the fund’s wider global achievements over the past decade, including a reduction of 95.9 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions, the restoration of 33.2 million hectares of ecosystems worldwide, and the leveraging of US$ 4 in private investment for every US$ 1 of GCF financing. As GCF pursues its ‘50by30’ vision, aiming to triple annual financing to US$ 15 billion by 2030, Namibia stands as a model for how climate finance can empower communities, strengthen institutions, and lay the groundwork for long-term resilience.
-anakale@nepc.com.na