Accelerating land restoration in Africa

Your Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales,
Your Excellency The President of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, Your Excellency The President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, Excellencies and Distinguished Guests,

On behalf of the Green Climate Fund, thank you for the kind invitation to contribute to the momentum of the Great Green Wall Initiative.

Land degradation is a cause and a consequence of climate change, and land restoration is a solution to climate change.

The ambition of the Great Green Wall to restore Africa’s degraded landscapes will enable the region to achieve multiple development objectives, from strengthening food security and creating jobs to recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, fostering peace and security, and addressing the climate and biodiversity crises.

The Green Climate’s ambition is to foster a paradigm shift towards low emission climate resilient development in developing countries. We are mandated to allocated half of our resources to adaption, prioritizing African States, SIDS and LDCs.

We are committed to supporting countries in the Sahel in their efforts to promote a bioeconomy. GCF has approved 29 public and private sector projects in Sahelian countries, totaling over USD 1 billion of GCF financing and almost USD 2.5 billion in co-financing since 2019.

And in 2021, the GCF Board approved several new projects that contribute to the Great Green Wall pillars.

The USD 82.8 million Africa Integrated Climate Risk Management Programme with the International Fund for Agricultural Development aims to build climate resilience of farmers in 7 countries, benefitting over 5 million people.

The Desert to Power Programme is a USD 960 million investment, including USD 150 million of GCF financing. Implemented with the African Development Bank, it aims to build renewable energy plants and micro-grids and has the potential of making the Sahel a regional energy hub.

And a project with the West African Development Bank to develop climate resilient agricultural practices in Niger was approved for USD 53 million, including USD 35 million of GCF financing. It will benefit over 1 million people.

The massive political momentum behind the Great Green Wall must be maintained. Effective coordination will be key in providing coherent support to Sahelian countries in addressing the multiple challenges they are currently facing. GCF stands to deepen its support and contribute to the success of the Great Green Wall Initiative.

Thank you.