In April, RCC East and Southern Africa co-organized a workshop to enable climate finance access in East Africa Community nations. 

The East African Community (EAC) is home to over 284 million people living in seven Partner States, which includes Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda.
 

To equip officials from the Ministries of Environment, Finance and Regional Affairs with the necessary knowledge and skills to mobilize and access climate finance, UN Climate Change supported the EAC to hold a climate finance workshop on 17-19 April, in Arusha, Tanzania. The workshop built on the earlier support provided through the Needs Based Finance project (NBF), which developed a regional climate strategy and identified potential priority regional projects. 

Workshop sessions discussed practical aspects of project preparation such as developing a theory of change, establishing a climate and regional rationale and identifying social and environmental risks. Climate funds and accredited entities provided initial feedback on three programs on Food Security, Water Security and Nature-Based Solutions, which were selected among the eight priority regional programs. 

The training culminated in key inputs to be considered in advancing the pre-concepts into complete concept notes acceptable to the targeted funding institutions. UN Climate Change and collaborating partners are excited to continue supporting the EAC and its Partner States along this journey.

 
The workshop was delivered in collaboration with the Adaptation Fund, Green Climate Fund, Global Environmental Facility, and accredited entities such as the Africa Development Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development, and United Nations Development Programme. This provided Partner States with first-hand information on existing funding windows, access modalities, priorities, and project cycles.

This was an important step towards mobilizing the needed US$ 26 billion annually to meet EAC’s combined Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) ambitions. Visit the event page for more information.