AfDB denies plan to fund East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has refuted a claim in news reports that it plans to provide financial support to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project.

AfDB, in a statement released on Saturday, disproved the claims in the article, which referenced a letter by a group of civil society organisations and climate change advocates, requesting the bank to withdraw from the project owing to its potential social and environmental damage.

“The NEPAD Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF) has not provided financing to any Private Sector Company for upstream oil or gas pipeline projects in East Africa.

“No commitment was therefore made to any party to fund the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project. The project is not included in the Bank’s lending program.

“The Bank is strongly committed to renewable energies,” the statement read in part.

Read also: Nigeria’s crude falls to $12 as millions of barrels remain unsold

AfDB restated its commitment to facilitating the transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient development in African countries across all its operational priority areas.

In 2019, roughly 36% of the entire financial approvals went to climate action.

The bank said it planned to double its climate finance to $25 billion between 2020 and 2025.

Similarly, it is collaborating with Multilateral Development Banks to design a blueprint that ensures that all its investments align with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

“The Bank has prioritised investment in renewables and has not invested in any coal project in the past decade as it sees renewable energy as the future.

“Since the launch of the Bank’s Strategy for the New Deal on Energy in 2016, up to 2019 renewable energy projects constitute about 85% on average of the Bank’s power generation investments.

“The Bank is working closely with African countries to realise their renewable energy potential and has developed dedicated programs and instruments to achieve this goal,” the document stated.

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