125 Conclusion The Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP2) is really a strategic approach. The “Action Plan” encompasses such a large set of considerations, that in reality it is not a plan of action, but rather a statement of actions that the Bank would either attend to internally or support RMCs with. Hence, while there are actions the Bank can take to enhance the enabling environment and mobilize more climate finance, even these actions are strategic in nature, serving as preconditions for fulfilment of Pillars 1 and 2 on adaptation and mitigation across Africa. Climate change complicates everything. However, it is possible to unpack climate change into the challenges it creates and to organize recommendations around these challenges. Climate change creates both rapid- and slow-onset hazards to RMCs and their development. The Bank supports RMCs to reduce these hazards through projects reducing exposure and vulnerability to them. RMCs set out their climate change and development ambitions in NDCs and the Bank supports RMCs in delivering their NDCs alongside other development ambitions. As such, the Bank has a wide range of projects and experiences to draw upon and learn from through MERL exercises. Based on these experiences, the Bank can train its own staff as well as stakeholders from RMCs, including government, business, and civil society stakeholders as well as even students destined to form the next generation of officials, entrepreneurs, and activists. A key question for the Bank to consider is how far it wants to go making climate change, green growth, and sustainable development key foci. For example, is the Bank willing to become the “African Sustainable Development Bank”? Regardless of the lessons from the evaluation or recommendations which are implemented, it is important for the Bank to have a clear strategy, understanding of its own “theories of change,” and how its activities influence climate change and development. Aligning policy with its climate change strategy will help along with developing another CCAP and setting of targets. The Bank should continue to focus on metrics already reported and to evaluate its progress through a climate change lens. Fundamentally, the Bank needs to align all its finance with climate-resilient low-carbon development. This does not mean all finance needs to be climate finance, but rather all finance needs to be climate-compatible (i.e., doing no harm). Finance should also be targeted towards supporting the implementation of NDCs, adaptation plans, and other climate change–related ambitions of RMCs and stakeholders. In doing so, the Bank will help limit per capita emissions growth and ultimately support fulfilment of the Paris Agreement’s purpose and the UNFCCC objective. These include limiting GHG emissions and the accumulation of GHGs in the atmosphere to levels that allow ecosystems to adapt naturally, not threatening food production, and allowing economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner. Areas of focus for future Bank climate strategies, policies and action plans Enhance climate resilience by limiting vulnerability and exposure to climate change and related hazards Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning (MERL) Train all staff on climate change issues and options Climate change creates rapid onset and slow onset hazards Limit atmospheric concentrations of GHGs to safe levels – so that global warming is well below 2°C Limit per capita GHG emissions to global levels required to fulfil the Paris Agreement Support fulfilment of unconditional and conditional NDCs and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) Implement Climate Strategy, policies, and the Third Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP3) African Sustainable Development Bank Climate change Regional Member Countries (RMC) African Development Bank Projects and experiences Finance, knowledge and technical support Impacts and risks Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions
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