2018-03-02Staff Report 2 Albertina Nakale Windhoek-Namibia will need nearly N$400 billion for climate change adaptation and mitigation up to 2030, Environment and Tourism Minister Pohamba Shifeta revealed yesterday. The implementation of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) will cost around US$33 billion (approximately N$396 billion) up to 2030, of which 10 percent will be sourced by Namibia through domestic financial resources and the remaining 90 percent of this cost will be mobilised from multilateral and bilateral sources in line with Article 4 of the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) particularly the principle of common but differentiated responsibility. Shifeta said, according to their estimation, Namibia would need about US$22 billion (about N$264 billion) for adaptation and US$11 billion (about N$132 billion) for mitigation, which translates to the N$396 billion needed up to 2030. Therefore, the implementation of this INDC is fully conditioned to the provision of the differential 90 percent of means of implementation required such as finance, technology transfer and the associated capacity building from Annex1 Parties, as stipulated under Article 4 of the UNFCCC. It is against this background that the minister signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) yesterday between the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the Development Bank of Southern Africa regarding access to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to source some of the needed funds. The ministry’s spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said currently Namibia, through its Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia (EIF), cannot access bigger amounts from the GCF, hence the ministry entered into the MoU with the Southern Africa Development Bank to access bigger amounts that would help cover the needed billions to fight climate change. The MoU would allow Namibia, through the development bank, to come up with bankable transformative projects that can be submitted to GCF for funding. Shifeta said climate change is recognised as one of the greatest global challenges of “our time, and Namibia is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world that is facing the impacts of climate change”. Thus, he said the signing of the MoU is a milestone in Namibia’s endeavour towards mobilising climate financing to enhance climate resilience among the people and tap into mitigation investment opportunities, which can significantly reduce the greenhouse gases. He said through the development bank, as an accredited entity to the GCF, Namibia is now in a position to programme transformative projects in the areas of food security, water, renewable energy and resilient infrastructure. “Therefore, the signing of this MoU has, therefore, come at an opportune time for us to mobilise financial resources needed to fully implement the Nationally Determined Contributions to the fight against climate change,” Shifeta noted. Mohale Rakgate Group Executive: Project Preparations of the Development Bank of Southern Africa welcomed the MoU, saying he looked forward to the relationship measured by success and tangible results. In conformity with decisions 1/CP.19 and 1/CP.20 of the Conference of the Parties, Namibia submitted its INDC to UNFCCC towards achieving the ultimate objective of the Convention as set out in Article 2. Further, he said Namibia’s commitments to the world, in terms of emissions, is to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by 89 percent by 2030. “This will involve increasing the share of renewable energy on electricity production to 70 percent by 2030; reducing energy consumption by about 10 percent through energy efficiency programme. We believe that with proper planning and the availability of financial resources and technical capacity, this commitment is achievable,” he maintained. He said Namibia has one of the most fertile grounds for renewable energy in the world and has one of the best solar regimes with over 3,300 hours of sunshine per year and the 1,500km coastline that has excellent potential for wind-based electricity generation. In the transport sector, he said Namibia is committed to reducing emissions by 1,300 gigatonnes through the implementation of mass green transportation systems in urban areas starting with the City of Windhoek. 2018-03-02Staff Report 2
