The African Development Bank (AfDB) says international global financing reforms are needed for Namibia to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) financing gap of US$9.429 billion (N$172 billion) by 2030.
The AfDB said Namibia’s classification as an upper-middle-income country limits its access to concessional resources, impacting its development.
“There is a need for reform of the international aid architecture to make more resources available to Namibia and other African countries,” said the AfDB.
Namibia was allocated SDR183 million out of a total allocation of SDR650 billion, which is insufficient for its development challenges. The AfDB highlights the need for international financing reforms.
“Namibia is disadvantaged in terms of accessing concessional funds. Consequently, there is a need to overhaul the aid and private finance architecture,” stated the AfDB.
The AfDB emphasised the importance of concessional financing from multilateral development banks for countries like Namibia, which remain vulnerable to shocks such as COVID-19 and commodity price volatility.
The AfDB said Namibia requires about US$5.3 billion over the 2021-2030 period to meet climate change targets and US$565 million annually for green growth objectives.
The AfDB urged the private sector to play a significant role in closing the climate finance gap.
“Several solutions to leverage opportunities for private sector investments in green growth and reduce obstacles are proposed, including accelerating business reforms for a conducive investment environment,” the AfDB report noted.
Namibia’s 2021-2030 updated NDC Implementation Strategy and Action Plan focuses on priority areas like water resources, agriculture, forestry, coastal zones, tourism, human health, and disaster risk management.
“To achieve the updated NDC targets, Namibia will need approximately US$5.3 billion over 10 years, of which about 10% will be unconditional, provided mainly from domestic public funds,” reported the AfDB.
The government has demonstrated its commitment to climate change, with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism tracking NDC implementation progress and coordinating with the UNFCCC and the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
The Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia also plays a crucial role in mobilising funds from the GCF and has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme to secure additional grant funding.
