Climate finance training for developing a project proposal
Gone are the days when Namibia relied mostly on external and international experts to develop bankable project proposals.With the accreditation of the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia (EIF) to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in 2016 and subsequent re-accreditation in October 2021, a new window of opportunity has opened for more entities seeking accreditation and access to climate change projects.
As the National Designated Authority (NDA) for climate finance, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) strives to strengthen the national capacity of coordinating the implementation of GCF funding in the country.
Thus far the NDA has nominated four entities for accreditation to the GCF: Bank Windhoek, the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN), the Agricultural Bank and the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF).
The rationale for nominating these entities is based on the fact that the DBN – once accredited – would potentially access financing for larger climate change infrastructure investments such as renewable energy and resilient infrastructures, amongst other areas of developmental focus.
Bank Windhoek would potentially access finance from the Private Sector Facility under the GCF for on-lending to the private sector possibly similar to that of the SUNREF project that was administered through the EIF that provided a line credit to the tune of €45 million to green finance, climate resilience and improved self-sufficiency in terms of energy, through the banking system and for the private sector.
The Agricultural Bank of Namibia would potentially access finance for on-lending in the agriculture sector; and the NNF, one of the oldest environmental non-governmental organisations in the country, would take up access to finance in the ecosystem management and most importantly occupy the micro category should EIF upgrade to small category.
Despite the country’s leadership being able to obtain international climate finance, and due to limited institutional and technical capacities prevailing in local institutions, nominated entities are unable to complete accreditation requirements as per GCF standards, and provide the needed services for accessing climate finance.
In the long term, this will affect the scale at which Namibia can access climate finance and implement its NDC and contribute to the global goal of the 1.5°C temperature. As such the country needs to strengthen the competencies, skills and procedures of the identified entities so that further projects can be developed and contribute towards the NDC’s goals.
Working group
It is against this background that the NDA established a climate finance working group, whose key collective responsibility is to develop bankable project proposals in fulfilment of the NDC targets.
One of the key partners in this capacity-building programme is the “Towards an Inclusive Design of the Renewable Energy Transition” (TIDRET) project - an initiative led by the EIF under the Climate Change and Inclusive Use of Natural Resources Project (CCIU-EU) of MEFT administered through the GIZ.
As part of its key objectives, the project aims to facilitate the formulation of evidence-based, gender-sensitive NDC projects and business models for climate action (adaptation and mitigation) and subsequently facilitate stakeholder dialogues with the private / public sector to support investment into climate action (adaptation and mitigation) at various platforms.
The project continues to provide technical support to the climate finance working group and convened a working session in the capital late last month. It also continues to provide capacity development support to not only those entities seeking accreditation but also to those institutions actively pursuing climate finance resources, in fulfilment of the NDC targets.
As such TIDRET has availed support funds to the tune of €10 000 to seven institutions to finalize their Concept Notes formulated during the Climate Finance Training Sessions to bankability and further catalyze the submission of such to a funding organization.
With this commitment, from the TIDRET project, there will be an increase in Namibia’s access to climate finance for the achievement of its NDC ambition through, strengthening the capacities of local institutions. The ultimate goal of this support will be that the country will be developing context-specific climate solutions for its citizens.