France welcomed as a partner in the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program
S harm El-Sheikh, Egypt, 8th November 2022 – The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) today signed a partnership agreement with the Government of France on a €10 million grant contributing towards the Upstream Financing Facility of the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP).
With the AAAP’s 1:100 influencing ratio, the grant will be used to integrate adaptation solutions and best practices into €1 billion in downstream investments across Africa.
The grant agreement was signed by French Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Parternships, Dr. Chrysoula Zacharopoulou and CEO of GCA Prof. Dr. Patrick Verkooijen this afternoon at COP27, after world leaders and African development partners gathered for the COP27 Leaders’ Event: Accelerating Adaptation in Africa.
Speakers at the Leaders’ Event, convened by African Union Chair H.E. President Macky Sall of Senegal, Dr. Verkooijen, and African Development Bank Group President Akinwumi Adesina, included United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, H.E. President Akufo-Addo of Ghana, Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, James Cleverly, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom, and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. The global leaders confirmed their support for the AAAP and emphasized the urgent need for climate adaptation in the African continent.
The grant will be implemented from January 2023 to December 2024 and will support the activities of the AAAP’s four pillars: Climate Smart Digital Technologies for Agriculture and Food Security, the African Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator, Empowering Youth through Jobs and Entrepreneurship and Innovative Financial Initiatives for Africa.
France plays a leading role in fighting global food insecurity. Earlier this year, President Macron announced the launch of the Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM) in collaboration with the African Union, an international initiative to strengthen food security in the world’s most vulnerable countries. Aligned with the AAAP, FARM’s objective is to curb the compounded effects of the climate emergency, the war in Ukraine, and the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural markets and food production systems. The grant to the AAAP’s Upstream Financing Facility targets FARM’s goals for the African continent.
Launched by GCA and the African Development Bank, and supported by the African Union and African leaders, the AAAP aims to mobilize US$25 billion by 2025 for adaptation investments across Africa for a stronger, faster post-Covid-19 economic recovery. In its first 18 months of operations, the AAAP’s Upstream Financing Facility has influenced more than $3.5 billion in upstream investments in 19 countries across Africa to support the preparation of adaptation activities of AAAP projects.
About the Global Center on Adaptation
The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) is an international organization which works as a solutions broker to accelerate action and support for adaptation solutions, from the international to the local, in partnership with the public and private sector. Founded in 2018, GCA operates from its headquarters in the largest floating office in the world, located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. GCA has a worldwide network of regional offices in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire; Dhaka, Bangladesh and Beijing, China.
Contacts:
Alex Gee
Head of Communications
Global Center on Adaptation
alex.gee@gca.org
Chinedu Moghalu
Senior Communication Advisor to the CEO
Global Center on Adaptation
chinedu.moghalu@gca.org
