The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted economic and social systems, further increasing poverty and inequality on the African continent. Moving into a period of economic recovery, an opportunity avails itself to reset traditional approaches to economic development, and shift towards greener, more sustainable initiatives. To guide this shift across the African continent, the African Union (AU) developed the Green Recovery Action Plan (GRAP), from 2021-2027, which provides a strategic framework for sustainable economic recovery from the pandemic. The GRAP is a comprehensive strategy aimed at promoting sustainable development and addressing the impacts of climate change in Africa. The GRAP focuses on Five (5) key thematic areas: Climate Finance, Clean Energy, Nature Based Solutions, Sustainable Agriculture and Green and Resilient Cities with a focus on Water. It aims to create jobs, promote economic growth, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while protecting the environment and building resilience to climate change.

The TCFP AU-GRAP was launched to support the operationalization of AU GRAP and address the issue of climate finance. Funded by the Global Affairs Canada Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, the Transformative Climate Finance Program (TCFP) AU-GRAP is part of the first phase of AU GRAP operationalization and is jointly implemented with GGGI, Africa Union and the Africa Capacity Building Foundation.

Enhanced impact on the economic and climate resilience of the African population in particular Women and Youth, post-COVID-19. This is achieved by progressing three interrelated intermediate outcome areas.

• Intermediate Outcome 1: Strengthening the AUC’s ability to implement the GRAP
• Intermediate Outcome 2: Enhancing skills of national and regional policymakers to develop inclusive green growth policies, plans, and programs in alignment with their nationally determined contributions and climate change strategies
• Intermediate Outcome 3: Improving the ability for governments and partners to access climate finance for Africa’s green recovery, aimed in particular at initiatives that support women and youth

In the first phase, seven Member States (Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, and Zambia) and three Regional Economic Communities: The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the East African Community (EAC) have been selected as pilot polls to kickstart green economic transformation.