SPATH

Aaron Kaah Yancho

Climate change is already having effects on national development efforts in various African countries. Changes in weather patterns and especially rainfall are affecting smallholder farmers and pastoralist. Poor urban communities are affected by climate change challenges such as flooding and accelerated migration from rural to urban areas. It is apparent, therefore, that ending poverty and improving overall wellbeing is linked to meeting the challenges of climate change, with climate finance being an important part of it.

Developing countries are already applying climate finance in making fundamental changes in their planning and in orienting their economic development strategies. Several countries have been making efforts in adaption of climate finance in line to achieving equitable and sustainable development.

Guyana inaugurated a low-carbon development plan in 2009 with an objective to shift the country to a low-carbon development trajectory. The country sourced funding for this economic change from REDD+ carbon finance, which was provided by development partners to protect Guyana’s immense rainforests

On its part, Nepal has drawn a policy framework that assists in integrating climate resilience and national and local development planning. This charter includes the national framework and Local Adaptation Plans for Actions (LAPA) 2011, international climate change policy 2011 and low carbon climate resilient development strategy. The country is also progressing in linking climate resilience into social, economic and environmental goals at sector level. For instance, in the energy sector the National Rural and Renewable energy programme is bring together a number of existing initiatives and is providing a national platform for future work.

Ethiopia had developed a climate resilient Green Economy Strategy, with the aim to keep the country’s national development objective on track of transitioning to a middle-income, institutional, and policy instruments to assist and encourage sub-national entities and sectors to design and implement climate-resilient and green economic development.

Rwanda drew up a national strategy for low-carbon development and climate change in order to set out its vision of becoming a climate resilient, low carbon economy by 2050. This vision is guided by the principle of equitable and sustainable economy growth, natural resource management and poverty reduction. The government’s main aim is to mainstream climate change into key sectoral and national development planning processes in order to achieve energy, security and low carbon energy supply that supports the development of green industry and services, sustainable land use and water resource management that results in food security, effective, urban development and preservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services and social protection improved health and disaster risk reduction that reduces vulnerability to climate change the strategy also aims to build robust local and regional knowledge to be able to respond to the impacts of climate change.