The first Africa Climate Resilient Infrastructure Summit (ACRIS I), which concluded on April 29, 2015 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, offered an opportunity for the African Development Bank to showcase its Climate Safeguard System (CSS). It aligns with the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy 2013-2022, whose core objective is to promote green growth through sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure in the region.

The CSS was developed to help reduce vulnerability of infrastructure projects to climate risks by carrying out upstream risk assessments in project designs. The CSS also facilitates the identification of appropriate adaptation components and measures that may be eligible for financial resources from climate funds.

The AfDB was represented by Osward Chanda, Division Manager for Water and Sanitation, East and Southern Africa; Jacques Moulot, Chief Power Engineer for the NEPAD Division, and Timothy Afful-Koomson, Principal Green Growth Officer in the Compliance and Safeguards Division within the Results and Quality Department.

The delegation also shared on the central role played by the Bank in providing technical and advisory services to address climate change impacts and risks, particularly on energy projects under the Programme for Infrastructure Development for Africa (PIDA). Also highlighted was the transformative ability of the Priority Action Plan (PAP-2020) on industrial development, regional trade, employment and job creation.

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