World Bank, AfDB commit $47 billion to African climate finance

French President Emmanuel Macron sits among delegates at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in Gigiri within Nairobi, Kenya March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The World Bank and the African Development Bank will together commit more than $47 billion by 2025 to help African countries tackle the effects of climate change, the banks said on Thursday.

Many countries on the continent, especially those on the coast, are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change such as rising sea levels and coral reef deterioration.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta shares a moment with UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed and Siim Kiisler, Minister of Environment of Estonia and President of the UN Environment Assembly, during the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in Gigiri within Nairobi, Kenya March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

Others are prone to more frequent droughts, desertification and floods.

The World Bank said in a statement it had pledged $22.5 billion for 2021-2025, while AfDB said it had committed $25 billion to climate finance between 2020 and 2025.

AfDB said the funds would be used to increase investment in renewable energy projects like solar power plants.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta gestures during the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) as UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed looks on Gigiri within Nairobi, Kenya March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

"The share of our portfolio that was in renewable energy generation between 2013 and 2015 was 59 percent but from 2015 to 2018 we moved from that to 95 percent," AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina told Reuters on the sidelines of a U.N. environment meeting.

The World Bank said some of the beneficiaries of its funding would include projects in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Kenya.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta is escorted as he arrives at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in Gigiri within Nairobi, Kenya March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

(Reporting by John Ndiso; Editing by George Obulutsa and Mark Potter)

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed gestures during the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) as she looks at Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta in Gigiri within Nairobi, Kenya March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho takes a selfie photo with his Nairobi counterpart Mike Mbuvi Sonko and Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta's personal assistant Jomo Gecaga at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in Gigiri within Nairobi, Kenya March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya