By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has called on the international community to scale up the availability of affordable capital to finance infrastructure and development across Africa.
Oyedele made the call while addressing the United Nations Dialogue on Solutions to Climate Finance on the margins of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
He said Africa’s development ambitions, particularly its energy needs, continue to be constrained by high financing costs, currency risks and limited access to affordable long-term capital.
The Minister explained that despite Africa’s relatively low contribution to global carbon emissions, the continent continues to face what he described as a “prejudice premium” and “narrative cost” in its efforts to mobilise financing for critical infrastructure.
He also identified currency risk and what he termed “stereotype tax” as additional burdens confronting African countries as they seek to raise capital for critical energy and other development assets.
Oyedele therefore called for a strategic shift in the approach to climate finance, with simpler access to affordable capital for developing countries and financing arrangements that better reflect their development realities.
He also urged the international community to scale up investment in gas and other transition energy sources, particularly in Africa, to expand access to reliable and affordable energy and help address global energy poverty.
According to him, greater investment in Africa’s energy sector would also help diversify global energy supply and reduce concentration risks, particularly amid disruptions affecting the Gulf region.
The Minister stressed that Africa’s energy transition must take account of the continent’s significant energy-access deficit, noting the need for greater investment to enable countries to meet their development needs while pursuing a practical transition to cleaner energy sources.
For Nigeria, Oyedele said the immediate priority was to structure and implement policies and programmes that would reduce poverty, expand economic opportunities and accelerate the distribution of shared prosperity.
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He said achieving these objectives would require stronger international cooperation and a financing framework that enables developing countries to mobilise the capital required to invest in infrastructure and improve the lives of their people.
