ADF Climate Action Window: Mitigation Sub-window Call for Proposals

 Deadline Date: July 08, 2024

 Donor Name: African Development Fund

 Grant Size: More than $1 million

The African Development Fund has launched the second call for proposals through its Climate Action Window (CAW) on the sidelines of the 59th Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank Group currently underway in Nairobi.

Recognizing climate change as a major threat to Africa, the African Development Fund’s Sixteenth Replenishment (ADF-16) established a Climate Action Window (CAW) for Africa’s 37 least developed countries. CAW, with an initial commitment of approximately US$ 429 million, aims to boost adaptation actions and expects to increase funding through contributions from various actors. The funding is primarily allocated to adaptation (75%), with the remainder for mitigation (15%) and technical assistance (10%).

The focus of this Second Call for Proposals under the CAW is the Mitigation Sub-Window. The CAW will launch a subsequent call focused on Technical Assistance this year.

Priority Sectors

• The CfP on Mitigation Sub-Window is specifically seeking projects from these priority sectors:
  • Agriculture, forestry, land use and fisheries
    • Projects eligible for financing under the CAW mitigation sub-window include projects that mitigate methane and other greenhouse gas emissions from livestock, improve carbon sequestration through rangeland management, and promote forestry or agroforestry projects for carbon sequestration and sustainable land management. The Mitigation sub-window will also support projects that reduce CO2e intensity in fisheries or aquaculture through activities such as improved energy efficiency of fishing fleets and machinery in the fisheries or aquaculture value chain. Additionally, investment outcomes will include support to farmers, food producers, and agri-SMEs to access climate-smart agriculture technologies. These technologies include efficient irrigation systems and renewable energy solutions geared towards enhancing agricultural productivity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, eligible projects will support reduction in energy consumption in operations, an increase in carbon stock in soil, or the avoidance of soil carbon loss through erosion control measures. 
  • Water Access and Wastewater management
    • Eligible projects include solid waste treatment, wastewater treatment, and water/wastewater reuse. This includes improvements in water supply systems through the deployment of low-energy consumption technologies or equipment, promotion of better auditing practices, or reduction of water losses. Additionally, the Mitigation sub-window will finance wastewater projects that reduce emissions through energy efficiency improvements or improved treatment targets. Projects promoting improved operation and maintenance to reduce water losses, promote energy savings, or meet or exceed wastewater treatment targets will also be funded. 
  • Energy access and renewable energy:
    • The mitigation sub-window will finance projects enabling ADF countries to accelerate a just energy transition through sovereign and public-private partnerships, aiming to green the energy mix and increase access to clean, sustainable electricity. This includes grid expansion and decentralizes renewable energy access programs. Additionally, the CAW will support projects greening power infrastructure, delivering additional renewable energy generation capacity, and enhancing resilience and energy supply reliability. Projects involving green hydrogen and other new renewable energy technologies, as well as the production, transport, or storage of low-carbon hydrogen or low-carbon products, will be eligible. Adoption of energy-efficient appliances, such as clean cooking technologies, will also be funded, bringing substantial mitigation benefits and adaptation co-benefits. Other eligible mitigation projects involve utilizing waste gas as a feedstock or fuel to provide electricity, heat, mechanical energy, or cooling energy. This includes waste gas from sources such as landfill methane, abandoned mine methane, associated gas currently being flared or vented, and biogas from municipal sewage, wastewater, or agricultural activities. 
  • Transport and infrastructure
    • Eligible projects will contribute to the development of climate resilient transport and urban infrastructure that is integrated and inclusive, is carbon neutral and supports better air-quality, while also enhancing regional trade, in line with the Integrate Africa High 5s. Investment outcomes will include urban mobility projects to be implemented and urban streets with Intelligent Traffic Management Systems (ITMS) and Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) facilities. Resilient transport infrastructure projects will leverage green climate funds in concessional and commercial co-financing, resulting in greening seaports, shipping, railways, intermodal logistics and urban public transport systems. Emphasis will also be placed on regional road networks including one stop border posts and auxiliary facilities. Other eligible projects include use of waste gas as transport fuel and construction of urban and rural public transport infrastructure. 
  • Green and sustainable finance
    • Investment outcomes will include the development of country-led green bonds, climate funds, or sustainable investment funds to attract private sector climate co-finance for mitigation projects in ADF countries. Additionally, to catalyze support for integrated natural resource investment, the CAW will support governance and green financing interventions through rent repurposing, blue/green bonds, bio-credits, debt-for-nature swap, and resource-backed loan transactions in RMCs on a case-by-case basis. The Mitigation sub-window will also support interventions that use Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which includes market and non-market mechanisms, to scale up access to climate finance for mitigation projects.

Cross-Cutting Priority Areas 

• Paris alignment: Project investments must be both carbon neutral and climate resilient, and investments either invested via Paris aligned projects or into pipelines that are themselves carbon neutral and climate resilient. Investments here will include well-developed national LTS, NDCs, NAPs and/or Adaptations Communications that are also aligned with National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, and these will be supported through the Technical Assistance sub-window. 
• Gender, youth, and social inclusion: The gender gap in access to productive resources shapes climate change impacts on men and women and how they can respond. Contributing to closing the gender gap will be a key criterion in assessing the eligibility of projects to access CAW funding. Projects will align with the Bank’s Gender Strategy and Action Plan (2020 – 2025) and the Bank’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy (2016-2025). Through the concept notes, project teams should address how the project will provide women and youth with enhanced and equal access to, inter alia: finance for climate-smart agricultural, digital, business and SME innovations; services to improve production and increase access to markets; climate and disaster risk finance and insurance; land rights; clean cooking and renewable energy technologies; water and sanitation systems; safe and inclusive transport systems; participation in the development of climate adaptation and mitigation strategies; and climate and weather forecasts and other forms of risk mitigation information. Gender-focused and youth-focused projects addressing climate change issues will also be considered.
• Biodiversity and nature-based solutions: The CAW will support projects that address nature-based solutions and aim to restore mangroves and wetlands, allow water to be stored and purified in a natural way (green infrastructures), aquaculture, forestry, and biodiversity conservation. The CAW will help to identify and deliver solutions to assist ADF countries to develop plans and projects for investments in nature-based solutions in key areas such as food and water security, restoration of degraded lands, sustainable forest management, flood and erosion control, blue economy, and coastal protection. This will be reflected in the ADF country and regional strategies and will be strengthened through the design of robust investments in Nature-based Solutions (NBS) in future ADF project pipelines.
• Enhancing climate governance and green public finance: CAW will finance projects that support activities aimed at strengthening governance systems for climate change. This includes: creating public policies and making decisions that directly relate to the international climate governance processes of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); ensuring participation and engagement with Civil society around the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs); Ensuring appropriate framework laws, regulations or public policies on climate change are developed in line with the NDCs; Greening public financial management1- promoting climate sensitive budgeting; monitoring and management of climate fiscal risks; promoting climate related revenue reforms i.e. carbon taxes- fuel taxes and green bonds; integrating climate into public investment management systems; strengthening accountability and transparency of climate spending.
• Skills and Capacity Building: CAW projects will support capacity building activities in the context of evolving climate challenges. Recognizing the imperative of transitioning to climate-smart technologies and practices across key sectors like energy, agriculture, and transport, the CAW is committed to supporting initiatives that bridge the current skills gap. By facilitating upskilling of the workforce, promoting innovation, and endorsing the adaptation of new technologies, the CAW seeks to elevate national systems, with a particular focus on higher education and research capabilities. This ensures not only a proactive response to climate disruptions but also a robust foundation for RMCs to integrate and capitalize on climate-resilient strategies. This could also include capacity strengthening on establishing Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems for mitigation, greenhouse gas accounting among others.

Funding Information

• For this mitigation call, the Climate Action Window will allocate approximately US$ 64 million. The funding is in the form of grants. Funding requested for a single project or programme may range between US$ 3 million to 5 million. In exceptional cases and on recommendation by the Independent Evaluation Panel, funding may be granted above or below these limits.

Eligible Beneficiaries

• Governments and government entities of ADF countries  
• African Development Bank departments: Bank departments may submit proposals directly or may work with eligible external beneficiaries to support them in preparing high quality project concept notes. 
• Regional or sub-regional intergovernmental bodies, including climate centers, river basin organizations, economic communities. 
• Non-sovereign entities (such as Non-Governmental Organizations, Community Based Organizations, and UN Agencies). 
• Proposals from consortia are allowed if all members of the consortium are eligible beneficiaries.

Eligible African Development Fund Countries

• Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé & Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe. (Note: Projects from or covering ineligible countries will not be funded).

Eligibility Criteria

• The second call is open to government entities, ministries, departments, agencies, departments of the African Development Bank, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations and inter-governmental organizations (including United Nations organizations, regional economic communities, regional river basin climate centers).

For more information, visit ADF.