African Development Bank President, Akinwunmi Adesina stated on Tuesday that the financial institution has committed to contributing $25billion to climate finance by 2050.

Dr Adeshina said this during the African Climate Summit, being held at The Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Nairobi, Kenya.

The AfDB president said, “At the national level, we must accelerate actions on climate adaptation and that is why the African Development Bank has committed to providing $25bn to providing climate finance by 2025.

“We have also launched the African Adaption Act Commission programme together with the Global Centre on Adaptation, the largest climate adaption programme in the world. Africa must develop with what it has not what it does not have.”

To harness Africa’s potential in renewable energy, he further called for the combination of natural gas and renewable energy to provide energy in the continent.

Adeshina noted that the combination would only contribute 0.5 per cent to global emissions.

“We cannot power Africa with potential. We must truly unlock Africa’s renewable energy potential. That is why the Africa Development Bank is implementing $20bn to harness the power of solar and deliver electricity to 250 million people.

“We must power every home, school, and hospital and provide stable, affordable and reliable power. But we must be pragmatic, Africa must use its natural gas and combine it with renewable energy”, he added.