The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has lamented members’ inability to access fund to tackle climate change.
The ECOWAS Commission said that the ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement by the Commission member states in 2015 signified an important turning point in combating the process of climate change.
Speaking on Tuesday at the opening of a four-day training for national experts in the development of climate project to access the Green Climate Funds in Abuja, the Director, Environment and Natural Resources, ECOWAS, Dr. Johnson Boanuh, said despite the existence of several funds, the difficulties in accessing these funds, in particular, the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund.
The Director disclosed that in 2018, a new approach had been initiated and conducted which connected the training of experts at the national level on the formulation of projects to meet the criteria of the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund.
Boanuh said, “To assist countries to overcome these challenges, the ECOWAS Commission has since 2015 initiated several capacity building programmes for Designated National Authorities on procedures for accessing said funds, in particular, the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund.
“Today’s workshop marks another step in a series of training for the 15 ECOWAS countries to allow each of them to have a pool of experts who can support the Designated National Authority in the coordination of projects and programmes development with the various development actors aimed at mobilizing resources from existing climate funds.”
On her part, the acting Director, Department of Climate Change, Federal Ministry of Environment, Mrs. Halima Bawa Bwari, noted that the training was timely because it would build the capacities of the participants in the area of project formulation and development.
