Rwanda, Italy sign 50 million Euros Agreement  To Boost Climate Projects

By Jean-Pierre Afadhali

The Government of Rwanda and Italy, represented respectively  by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and The Ministry of environment and Energy security, have signed a 50-million-euro financing agreement to support Kigali’s climate policy agenda.

The funds will be channelled through the Italian Climate Fund and managed  by cassa Depositi e Prestiti ( CDP), an Italian Development Bank.

The agreement is meant to support Rwanda’s National Climate Action Plan and bolster Rwanda’s climate  policy agenda by enhancing its resilience and adaptive capacity to the impact of global warming. According to a press released issued by Rwanda’ ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the allocated resources will be made available upon achieving of a package and  policy and institutional reforms, that will integrate climate  change mitigation and adaptation into the policy and regulatory framework.

“These reforms will be essential to achieve the national targets for carbon emissions targets,” Kigali said in the new release issued on Monday.

Rwanda’ s minister of Finance and Economic Planning  Yusufu Murangwa said Rwanda has placed climate action at core of its agenda adding: “as evidenced by our National Determined contributions (NDCs). To effectively  implement the mitigation and adaptation measures outlined in NDCs, financial, capacity building and technology  transfer  are essential. Therefore, the agreement we have signed  today will significantly contribute to this endeavour, estimated at US $11 billion.”

“Italy through  the climate fund  continues its efforts to create the best condition for the growth on the African continent, ” said Italy’s minister of Environment, Energy and security, Gilberto Pitchetto, “ with Rwanda,” he adds “ We invest in planning which is necessary the major climate issues affecting that region.”

Officials said the financing is part of a broader partnership involving multilateral and bilateral financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), within the framework of leveraging the resilience  and Sustainability Facility  agreement, worth an estimate of $ 319 million already signed by the government of Rwanda with IMF in 2022, and others such as the World Bank Group, the European Union, European Investment Bank, and other  European Development Financial institutions through the Team Europe Initiative among others.