Environment
Closing Africa’s Climate Financing Gap: Experts Convene in Uganda
The Second Annual Climate Finance Conference opened this morning (1st April 2025) in Kampala. The two-day event is held under the theme: “Closing the Climate Financing Gap in Africa. ” According to Collin Agabalinda, the conference chairperson, climate change is not only an environmental concern; it also presents economic risks to the global economy, including physical threats such as floods that cause agricultural losses and destroy infrastructure.
“The unfortunate aspect of this, and the reason we need this conference, is that for Africa, especially in countries like Uganda, the implications of these risks are extremely severe. Currently, Africa contributes a smaller percentage, perhaps 4%, to global emissions. The continent is disproportionately affected by climate-related vulnerabilities, including droughts, floods, and more. Particularly in countries like Uganda, which rely heavily on agriculture, productivity related to agriculture, human health, and livelihoods is expected to decline significantly. Thus, countries like Uganda are highly vulnerable.”
He told participants that today’s convening is set to discuss climate change, a critical global challenge that is both scientifically undeniable and economically significant, adding that science demonstrates that the planet is warming at an unprecedented rate, due primarily to human-produced emissions of greenhouse gases.
“For those of you that know a bit of climate finance, we now believe that the emissions of gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and all that have led to global warming. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the IPCC) underscores the immediate necessary action to mitigate these emissions but also to enhance the adaptive capacity to manage the inevitable impact.
He argued that the globe is warming, and because of that, the climate is changing. So, countries must do everything possible to reduce the emissions.
Mr Agabalinda noted the need for resources to address all these, hence climate finance.
In his speech read for him by the chairman Parliamentary Committee on Climate Change Hon Songa Lawrence, the Minister for Finance Hon Matia Kasaija dwelled on what happened on Wednesday, 26th March 2025, in Kampala where flash floods led to the death of at least 10 people, noting that climate change threatens to undo several development gains if Uganda’s development plans are not climate-resilient.
He, therefore, called for additional finance to be matched up with the adaptation mitigation needs, as articulated in Uganda’s post-state national economic competition at $28.1 billion until 2030.
Kasaija argued that the time is now to shift to more innovative approaches that will facilitate access to more predictable, large-scale climate finance. According to the most recent UN emissions Gap Report 2024 by the United Nations Environment Programme, countries remain largely off track in meeting the climate goals in terms of pledging and providing a climate finance unit to deliver a quantum leap in ambition that will give the world a chance of living from a warming to 1.5 degrees centigrade.
“Considering the current challenges we are facing in terms of climate disasters, the Loss and Damage Fund that was adopted at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, has since not provided the money commensurate to the needs of developing countries.
The fund is designed to assist developing countries, especially those most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, in responding to economic and non-economic losses caused by extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and other climate-related issues.
However, the minister states that failure to implement this is causing a lot of pressure on governments to borrow money at non-concessional rates to manage these disasters. He added that the government of Uganda, in particular, is struggling with managing the landslide issues in Bududa, Sebei and River Mwamba in Kasese, among others.
However, he says they have prepared a regulatory framework in advance to address the evolving requirements for sustainable finance through aligning financial systems and investment practices with national climate and green economic goals.
Hon Kasaija says that his Ministry has undertaken some interventions to sustain and accelerate climate finance mobilization and utilization to push on the current socio-economic infrastructure and manage the adverse effects of climate change.
In line with these climate finance mobilization mandates explained in the National Climate Change Policy of 2015 and the National Climate Change Act of 2022, the Ministry of Finance, Climate and Economic Development created a climate finance unit, which Kasaija says has delivered well in actual climate finance mobilization and coordinating related efforts in short term.
“The government of Uganda, led by the Ministry of Finance, Climate, and Economic Development, through the Climate Finance Unit, has concluded the development of national climate finance projects for 2024-2025. The strategic framework provides local and international sources as well as efficient utilization to support adaptation mitigation efforts in the country. Initial capitalization of the Uganda Development Fund Climate Finance Facility was evaluated at 50 billion in 2023 and an additional 1.2 billion in 2025. This fund is promoting a green economy by financing investments in the sectors of climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, sustainable waste management, climate-resilient infrastructure, low-carbon industry, and eco-forestry. Updating low-impact green financing represents the government’s commitment to enhancing financial access for green enterprises, including the small, and medium enterprises, as articulated in the Green Growth Financing Strategy 2017-18 to 2020-2021,” said Minister Kasaija.
He further revealed that the Ministry of Finance has developed a 10-point growth strategy that aims to grow Uganda’s economy in the next 15 years from USD 50 billion to USD 500 billion by 2040 targeting four key sectors of agro-industrialization, tourism, mineral development including oil and gas, science and technology, and innovation including ICT, research and development.
Minister Kasaija said that the conference has been timely organized to facilitate room for discussion on challenges faced in accessing climate finance while exploring opportunities for unlocking the same-unit climate finance to deliver Uganda’s national development agenda. “However, as we discuss climate finance as a single component, let us understand certain actions that reduce pollution even at the household level and reduce our country’s footprint, such as the adoption of technologies.”
He reiterated that the government of Uganda, through his ministry remains committed to supporting initiatives that promote climate-definable growth and invites all stakeholders such as the academia, private sector, government partners, civil society, among others to work together in delivering a 10-point growth economy and leverage on every opportunity to change climate finance organizations.
On his part, Hon Songa noted that Uganda has a Climate Change law and a parliamentary committee that works with members of the private sector to close the gap in climate financing. He promised that his committee is there to listen and carry the concerns of Ugandans and private companies about climate change and present them on the floor of parliament.
Dr Mary Nantongo, the Director, Climate Finance and Sustainability Centre, MUBS, which organized the conference, noted that the centre was formed in partnership with Frankfurt School in Germany to find solutions for Africa’s climate financing problems.
