President Hage Geingob said Namibia would need N$285b (US$15b) to implement the Nationally Determined Contribution by 2030.
The Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) is part of the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Action plan to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts.
All the countries that signed the Paris Agreement must establish an NDC and update it every five years.
Each country must also submit a National Adaptation Plan, which Namibia had not yet done, by 23 November 2023.
The only African countries that had submitted are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo and Zambia.
Addressing the high-level segment at the COP28 in Dubai, Geingob Namibia’s National Adaptation Plan is enhanced by the announcement made three years ago during the 75th General Assembly, boldly signalling the intention to leverage innovative financial tools to mobilize sustainable climate financing to combat climate change.
Geingob also said Namibia announced at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, the development of large-scale green hydrogen projects to provide the world with the clean molecules needed to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors.
“Today, as part of our efforts to build green industrial clusters in Namibia, we are developing more than nine hydrogen projects.
“To do so successfully, we must deploy more than US$20b to give future generations a fighting chance against a warming planet,” he said.
According to Geingob, the sixth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change identifies Namibia as one of the most vulnerable nations in Sub-Saharan Africa, with rising temperatures, increased evaporation, and rainfall variability posing significant challenges.
“Therefore, for a drought-prone country like Namibia, climate change stands as a formidable obstacle to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal,” he said.
Geingob said Namibia emphasizes that the Inaugural Global Stocktake process should help identify gaps in the financial support needed and the support provided since adopting the Paris Agreement in 2015.
