Rwanda has cut 126,000 tonnes of carbon emissions over the last nine years owing to strategic climate resilience investments made across the country, official data released on Wednesday during Finance Day at the ongoing 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Egypt showed.
The data on green investments released by the Rwanda Green Fund showed that since 2013, funding worth 247 million U.S. dollars has been mobilized for strategic climate resilient investments.
The funding was invested in 46 green projects across the country that helped to cut the carbon emissions.
At least 47,000 hectares of forests and agro-forestry were planted while 31,000 hectares of watershed and water bodies have been protected, it showed.
Over 88,000 households were given access to off-grid clean energy while 120,000 people were supported to cope with the effects of climate change, according to the data.
Rwanda needs an estimated 11 billion U.S. dollars to mitigate and adapt to climate change effects up to 2030, Rwanda’s Finance State Minister for Economic Planning, Claudine Uwera said during the event.
“COP27 is an opportunity to engage development partners to meet the remaining financing of 6.5 billion U.S. dollars to maintain and accelerate momentum to deliver on Rwanda’s climate agenda,” she added.
Jeanne D’arc Mujawamariya, Rwandan Minister of Environment called on rich nations to deliver on the 100 billion U.S. dollars per annum pledge.
Since 2009, the pledge of 100 billion U.S. dollars by developed countries, every year by 2020 to support developing countries to cope with climate change, is yet to be met.
During the Finance Day heads of governments and activists called for immediate and innovative solutions to drive the global climate finance landscape to complement public finance.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has said questioning whether Africa is ready to make use of climate finance should not be used as an excuse to justify inaction. ■