The Seventh East Africa Climate Finance Directors’ Level Meeting (EACFDLM) convened in Kigali under the theme, “From Frameworks to Action: Scaling Up Climate Finance to Advance NDC 3.0 Ambitions,” bringing together senior finance officials, development partners, and climate experts to accelerate the region’s transition from policy commitments to tangible results.
Rwanda’s Minister of State for Resource Mobilization and Public Investment, Mutesi Rusagara, officially opened the meeting, highlighting the macroeconomic implications of climate change.
“Climate change is no longer a distant threat but a macroeconomic reality. For finance ministries, climate is not a sectoral issue. It affects fiscal stability, debt sustainability, and the resilience of our growth model,” Rusagara said.
Delegates noted that East African countries face shrinking fiscal space, driven by declining concessional finance and increasing climate shocks.
This has intensified the need for innovative financing solutions to support the region’s updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0) under the Paris Agreement.
Minister Rusagara emphasized that public finance alone cannot meet the scale of climate investment needs. She called for greater use of blended finance instruments, development of credible carbon markets, and stronger private sector participation to unlock new capital streams.
Dr. Pablo Martinez, Country Representative of the Global Green Growth Institute for Uganda, Zambia, and Angola, stressed pairing policy ambition with bankable financing strategies.
“Moving from frameworks to action requires not only technical solutions but also coordinated regional commitment. We must align ambition with credible financing pathways,” Martinez said.
While East Africa has recorded early successes in pilot initiatives for electric mobility and green innovation, the challenge remains scaling these projects into programmatic investments attractive to institutional and commercial capital.
Discussions in Kigali focused on strengthening climate finance governance, improving institutional coordination, and accelerating access to climate finance mechanisms.
Delegates highlighted the need for robust project preparation facilities, transparent monitoring frameworks, and closer collaboration between finance ministries, environmental agencies, and private investors.