UNECA, UNCTAD Convene Regional Dialogue to Boost Climate Financing for African SIDS

Addis Ababa: The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) opened a high-level regional dialogue aimed at enhancing access to external financing for climate-resilient development in African Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

According to Ethiopian News Agency, the event, held at the UNECA Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, spans two days and gathers representatives from Comoros, Cabo Verde, Seychelles, Mauritius, So Tomé and Príncipe, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, and Benin, along with UN agencies and development partners.

In her opening remarks, Zuzana Schwidrowski, ECA Director of the Macroeconomics, Finance and Governance Division, emphasized the urgent need for innovative financing solutions to tackle the unique challenges faced by African SIDS.

“This gathering is a milestone in our collective journey to empower African SIDS to access the external financial resources they urgently need to build climate-re
silient, inclusive, and sustainable economies,” she stated.

Schwidrowski highlighted the economic constraints facing these nations, such as small, import-dependent economies, geographic remoteness, and vulnerability to global shocks. She pointed to alarming debt levels, with Cabo Verde’s public debt-to-GDP ratio projected to reach 109 percent in 2025, while Comoros faces a high risk of debt distress, limiting fiscal flexibility.

The meeting aims to validate national financial strategies for Comoros and Cabo Verde, involving green bonds, blue bonds, diaspora bonds, and debt-for-climate swaps. It also seeks to identify regulatory reforms to unlock external financing, strengthen coordination between finance and environment ministries, facilitate peer learning among African SIDS, including Mauritius and Seychelles, and advocate for reform in the global financial architecture.

Schwidrowski criticized the current international financial system for excluding middle-income SIDS from concessional financing despite
their fragility. “African SIDS, despite their middle-income classifications, often lack access to concessional finance. Many are penalized for their income rather than supported for their fragility,” she said.

She urged for revised eligibility criteria, improved access to global climate funds, and regional financing mechanisms tailored to the needs of SIDS.

Following the dialogue, UNECA and UNCTAD will finalize national roadmaps based on stakeholder feedback, provide technical assistance to operationalize strategies, organize a follow-up virtual workshop to share lessons continent-wide, and expand the initiative to include additional African countries.

Schwidrowski reaffirmed UNECA’s commitment to African SIDS, stating, “These nations may be small in geography, but they are large in ambition, resilience, and potential. By strengthening regional cooperation, leveraging innovation, and aligning financial flows with national priorities, we can move closer to a future where climate resilience and sustainable d
evelopment are not aspirational ideals-but achievable realities.”