Rwanda needs to raise another $7 billion to finance its climate action plans through 2035, after mobilising about $5 billion towards the estimated $12 billion required, the Rwanda Green Fund said.
Teddy Mugabo, chief executive of the Rwanda Green Fund, said the money already raised would support projects to help communities deal with the effects of climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“We have mobilised $5 billion for projects to address climate change and are now looking for another $7 billion,” Mugabo said.
He said raising the remaining funds would require Rwanda to broaden its sources of financing as access to international climate finance changes.
The Rwanda Green Fund will also seek to mobilise more money locally, including by working with Rwandan investors through the capital market and other financing arrangements.
The funding gap comes as Rwanda prepares to host and attend a series of international meetings where climate finance and environmental issues will be discussed.
Kigali will host the Carbon Markets Africa Summit from Oct. 13 to 15, followed by the 38th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, known as MOP38, from Nov. 2 to 6.
The Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP17 will take place in Yerevan, Armenia, from Oct. 19 to 30, while the U.N. climate change conference, COP31, is scheduled for Antalya, Türkiye, from Nov. 9 to 20.
MOP38 will come 10 years after the adoption of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol in October 2016.
The amendment calls for countries to gradually reduce the use of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, gases widely used in refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment.
Its full implementation could help avoid up to 0.5 degrees Celsius of global warming by the end of the century. The shift to climate-friendly refrigerants can also improve energy efficiency.
The Kigali meeting is expected to review progress in implementing the amendment and discuss further measures to protect the atmosphere.
