Kasaija lauds Africa’s push for climate-responsive economic growth

Finance Minister Matia Kasaija has applauded Africa’s collective resolve to place climate-responsive economic transformation at the centre of the continent’s development agenda.

Kasaija, who is also the Chair of the Global Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action, said the forum will enable African leaders to speak with one voice grounded in the continent’s priorities and realities. He noted that it will promote peer-to-peer learning, strengthen institutional capacities, and ensure that Africa’s economic planning fully integrates climate risk, adaptation needs and the opportunities presented by green growth.

The minister’s remarks were delivered on Wednesday, on his behalf by Dr Albert Musisi, Commissioner for Macroeconomic Policy at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, during the opening of the second meeting of African Ministers of Finance held in Lusaka, Zambia.

The Global Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action seeks to ensure that climate change action is embedded in public finance management. The coalition supports finance ministries to integrate climate considerations into economic policy by aligning national budgets with the Paris Agreement, promoting carbon pricing, mobilising private finance and sharing best practices for building low-carbon and climate-resilient economies.

“We see climate action as a catalyst for economic transformation, job creation, enhanced food security, expanded access to clean energy and protection of the natural assets on which our communities depend,” Kasaija said. “This meeting is therefore timely and urgent, as ministries of finance must use their fiscal power to shape macroeconomic, fiscal and financial strategies that will enable Africa to thrive.”

Dr Sam Mugume Koojo, the technical coordinator at the Secretariat for Uganda, noted that some African countries have made significant progress in green budgeting practices. He said these include strengthened climate tagging systems, the establishment of climate finance units, and the introduction of green bonds and other innovative financing instruments.

Zambia’s Accountant General, Nsandi Manza, who represented the country’s Minister of Finance, said Africa is already experiencing the impacts of climate change with unprecedented intensity, despite being rich in natural resources, renewable energy potential and human capital.

“The reality of climate vulnerability and climate opportunity defines the purpose of our meeting,” Manza said. “Across Africa, droughts, floods, cyclones and food insecurity are no longer distant risks. They are present and costly realities that are reducing gross domestic product, straining public resources and undermining long-term development gains.”

She added that Africa remains central to the global climate solution, stressing that there is a unique opportunity to translate the continent’s vast potential into bankable, growth-enhancing economic strategies.