INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
United Nations agencies are trying to unlock key climate financing for Afghanistan, one of the world&s most vulnerable countries to climate
change which has not received approval for any fresh such funds since the 2021 Islamic Emirate takeover, Reuters reported citing two U.N
officials.Plagued by drought and deadly floods, Afghanistan has been unable to access U.N
climate funds due to political and procedural issues since the IEA came to power.But with the population growing more desperate as climate
agencies are hoping to unseal project financing for the fragile country to boost its resilience.If successful, this would be the first time
new international climate finance would flow into the arid, mountainous nation in three years.&There are no climate sceptics in
Afghanistan,& said Dick Trenchard, U.N
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) country director for Afghanistan
&You see the impact of climate change and its environmental effects everywhere you go.&Two U.N
agencies are currently drawing together proposals they hope to submit next year to shore up nearly $19 million in financing from the U.N&s
Global Environment Facility (GEF), part of the financial mechanism of the 2015 U.N
Paris Agreement on climate change.These include the FAO, which hopes to get support for a project costing $10 million that would improve
rangeland, forest and watershed management across up to four provinces in Afghanistan, while avoiding giving money directly to IEA
Development Programme, meanwhile, hopes to secure $8.9 million to improve the resilience of rural communities where livelihoods are
threatened by increasingly erratic weather patterns, the agency told Reuters
If that goes ahead, it plans to seek another $20 million project.&We&re in conversations with the GEF, the Green Climate Fund, the
Adaptation Fund & all these major climate financing bodies & to reopen the pipeline and get resources into the country, again, bypassing the
de facto authorities,& said Stephen Rodriques, UNDP resident representative for Afghanistan.National governments often work alongside
accredited agencies to implement projects that have received U.N
But because the IEA government is not recognised by U.N
agencies would both make the request and serve as the on-the-ground partner to carry out the project.FLOODS, DROUGHT&If one of the countries
most impacted by climate change in the world cannot have access to (international climate funds), it means something isn&t working,&
Rodriques said, adding that any funds should come alongside continued dialogue on human and women&s rights.Flash floods have killed hundreds
in Afghanistan this year, and the heavily agriculture-dependent country suffered through one of the worst droughts in decades that ended
Many subsistence farmers, who make up much of the population, face deepening food insecurity in one of the world&s poorest countries.The FAO
and UNDP will need to receive initial approvals by the GEF secretariat before they can submit their full proposals for a final decision from
the GEF Council, which comprises representatives from 32 member states.If the agencies get that first green light, Trenchard said, they
would aim to submit their proposals in early 2025.We &are awaiting guidance as to whether it would be possible to proceed,& Trenchard
said.No foreign capital has formally recognised the IEA government, and many of its members are subject to sanctions
The United States has frozen billions in central bank funds since the IEA took over and imposed restrictions on education of girls and
women.Many human rights activists have condemned the IEA&s policies and some have questioned whether interaction with the IEA and funnelling
funds into the country could undermine foreign governments& calls for a reversal on women&s rights restrictions.The IEA says it respects
women&s rights in accordance with Sharia law.Countries mired in conflict and its aftermath say they have struggled to access private
investment, as they are seen as too risky
funds are even more critical to their populations, many of whom have been displaced by war and weather.IEA members are attending the ongoing
climate negotiations COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan as observers for the first time.The IEA&s presence could build trust between Afghanistan and
international donors, said Abdulhadi Achakzai, founder of the Afghanistan climate nonprofit Environmental Protection Trainings and
Development Organization, on the sidelines of COP29.&It will be a safer world for the future to include Afghanistan officially in the
&We see this is an opportunity
There are funds for Afghanistan, we just need to secure it.&
