Mozambique takes another step towards combating climate change with the launch of a 116 million meticais fund by the Belgian Development Agency - Enabel.

It is a fund that aims to finance initiatives that promote more knowledge on different topics related to climate change, fostering the emergence of innovative solutions to tackle the inherent challenges.

The fund was presented on December 13 in Maputo at a session to disseminate the Manual of Operations and Procedures of the mechanism for financing studies, technical assistance and pilot projects, developed in collaboration with the Government of Mozambique through the Climate Financing Office (GFC) of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF).

During the event, Vicente Matsinhe, Project Manager, stressed the importance of this funding, pointing out that it will benefit various initiatives and actors in the sector. "This project focuses on issues affecting the most vulnerable communities and recognizes that there are still many unknown aspects of climate change. We want to promote more knowledge and collaboration between the public and private sectors," said Vicente Matsinhe.

Among the areas identified as priorities are access to water, loss and damage, access to energy and waste management, sectors that face major challenges and need greater mobilization of climate finance to mitigate their impacts. In total, around 116 million meticais are available to finance projects related to the energy transition and climate change, for the period between 2024 and 2027.

For his part, Enabel's Assistant Climate Finance Coordinator, Samuel Buvane, said that the funds could be used for activities such as studies, research, seminars, consultancies and training. Enabel stresses the importance of collaboration with the private sector (particularly the non-profit sector), recognizing its fundamental role in climate finance.

The representative of the Climate Financing Office of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Anacleta Chiangua, pointed out that the meeting provided an opportunity to deepen the implementation mechanisms of the projects financed by Enabel and that it was only a first moment of interaction that will be followed by other phases of dissemination in the hope that these meetings can culminate in the submission of relevant and good quality proposals.

(Photo DR)