COP19 (18/11/13) – Yogesh K. Vyas, Climate Change Specialist, African Development Bank talks about why the right policies and financial incentives are needed to encourage green growth in Africa.

He says the African Development Bank has a large energy portfolio in which there is a focus on renewable energy.

Some of the large scale projects the Bank has financed include: a flagship geothermal project in Kenya, which is planned to be implemented in neighbouring countries as well, and a wind energy project in northern Kenya.

Vyas says the African Development Bank also has alternative financing instruments to allow countries and communities to tap into small scale projects. For example they are financing a hydropower project in Uganda and they are supporting co-generation projects, in association with UNIP, in Kenya where the waste from sugar plantations and being used to generate steam power.

He says the Bank is also developing different financing instruments such as Sustainable Energy for Africa and a climate change trust fund.