Finance State Minister Uzziel Ndagijimana told UN member states not to wait for external financing to be able to implement their commitments to the Paris climate change agreement.

The minister told delegates at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP22) in Marrakech, Morocco this week that "while the Paris agreement might cause some headaches in the negotiation rooms,” it comes with a lot of negotiations, it presents a chance for Africa to boost its development.

At least 195 countries in December last year adopted the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal, dubbed the Paris agreement, aimed at reducing global warming to below 2°C. "And so, when solid regional and international frameworks are in place, it is important for each country to have ambitious and specific Nationally Determined Contributions. Our NDCs shouldn’t just be documents in office desks somewhere, they should be the action plan – living, breathing work plans that get more ambitious every five years,” he said.

"Despite the need to tap into international climate finance, it’s also important not to wait for external resources to start implementing our NDCs. As we push hard to mobilise $100 billion a year by 2020, we must also see how we can go ahead ourselves and meet the targets we have set.”

The minister’s remarks just came in as the African Development Bank (AfDB) announced in Morocco that it had approved $10-million equity investment in the Technology and Innovation in Developing Economies (TIDE) Fund I to boost production and growth to some countries in Africa, including Rwanda. TIDE Africa Fund I, a venture with a target size of $100 million incorporated in Mauritius, has 10-year target within a 5-year investment period.

The fund will invest in companies that leverage on new technology to dramatically lower the cost of services ranging from agribusiness to financial services, energy, education and healthcare, expanding access to these services by households and enterprises. It will initially invest in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana, followed by Ethiopia, Rwanda and Zambia.

Meanwhile, Natural resources Minister Dr. Vincent Biruta this week met and held talks with the Israel Minister of environment Ze’ev Elkin on the sidelines of the UN conference.

The minister had earlier told a Joint UK-Australia Event on the Climate Finance Roadmap to $100 billion, that there will only be meaningful climate action if all developing and vulnerable nations can have access to climate finance.

As part of the Paris agreement, developed countries were urged to scale-up their level of support with a concrete roadmap to achieve the goal of mobilising $100 billion per year by 2020 for climate action in developing countries.

"Another lesson we have learnt is that country ownership is crucial. Therefore, I encourage all nations to apply for direct access to Green Climate Fund (GCF) so that the government institutions responsible for serving citizens have access to the resources they need to do this. We must also demand a return on investment. We cannot afford to waste the opportunities that lie in climate financing mechanisms like the Green Climate Fund. We have the responsibility to be efficient, and ensure what we do is cost effective, viable and scalable,” Biruta said.

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