West African states agreed to establish a platform on finance for climate action under the ECOWAS. The platform is expected to be officially presented at the UN climate change conference COP23 in Bonn in November 2017.

The platform on finance for climate action has been launched in reaction to the Declaration of Abidjan adopted in June 2017 at the ECOWAS Green Investment Catalyst Roundtable in Abidjan. The Declaration of Abidjan recognized that significant scale of investment needs to be reached in order to provide universal energy access in Africa and to accomplish the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. The Declaration emphasized enormous green investment potential of the West African States region, particularly in energy sector. However, lack of adequate financing and solid legal framework remain a significant constrains.

Most of the West African countries have experienced negative consequences of climate change such as droughts, heat stress or floods. In addition, climate change poses a major challenge to agriculture development in Africa. In order to address the abovementioned concerns, the ECOWAS platform on finance for climate action aims to catalyse investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency, contribute to emission reduction and strengthen resilience against climate change. Moreover, the platform should serve as a central hub for knowledge dissemination of financial technical assistance, funding facilities, best practices and solutions for private investments. Establishment of the ECOWAS platform is expected to harmonize regional standards and to coordinate regional efforts related to climate finance (green loans and bonds).

The gLAWcal Team