Namibia’s Resilient Path Forward: Unlocking Fair Access to Climate Finance

For every community already demonstrating remarkable resilience in adapting to climate change, many others are still waiting for the finance that can transform their hope into action

November 20, 2025

NILALEG project- devil’s claw harvesters in Zambezi.

UNDP Namibia

Author

Bernadette Shivute

Sustainable Finance Specialist (Project Lead), UNDP Namibia

As the sun rises over Namibia’s north-western landscapes, a group of women in Ruacana gather near their solar-powered irrigation pumps. Once unreliable and expensive, access to energy is now transforming how families grow food, manage water, and earn a living. Their story is one of progress, but also of persistence, because for every community adapting to climate change, there are others still waiting for the finance that can turn hope into action.

Across Namibia, similar stories of persistence unfold every day. In Zambezi, communities are restoring forests to protect riverbanks, while in Windhoek, young innovators are turning waste into renewable energy. Each effort reflects Namibia’s determination to act, even amid uncertainty, but these local successes also show a persistent challenge, climate ambition relies on climate finance, and the resources needed to sustain progress remain uneven, complex, and too slow to reach the people driving change.

In her inaugural statement at the World Leaders Climate Action Summit at COP 30 in Belém, Brazil, Namibia’s President Dr Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah called for international financial system reform so that climate finance becomes accessible, predictable, and fair for those who need it most. She reminded delegates that developing countries cannot continue to bear the costs of global inaction, and that climate finance must serve as a bridge between global ambition and national delivery. The President’s remarks echoed the debate on the New Collective Quantified Goal, a new global climate finance target established under the Paris Agreement, which aims to mobilise at least USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035, a shift that could unlock transformative investments in Africa and beyond.

Build back better project beneficiaries in their greenhouse, Swakopmund.

UNDP Namibia

Namibia’s already has plans to make use of such financing. The Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy and the Second Updated Nationally Determined Contribution estimate a financing need of around USD 15 billion by 2030, with 80% to help build a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy. Yet, the 2024 Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review showed that only 11% of Namibia’s national budget is climate-related, underscoring the need for new instruments that blend domestic and external resources in a coherent way.

Through UNDP’s Climate Promise initiative, Namibia supports the integration of climate priorities into national budgets and plans, helping ministries apply climate budget tagging, fiscal coordination, and expenditure reviews that ensure transparency and efficiency. The Biodiversity Finance initiative (BIOFIN) builds on this work, identifying innovative mechanisms to fund biodiversity and ecosystem management.

As Namibia’s fiscal reforms evolve, there is a growing opportunity for the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises to continue the process of aligning biodiversity finance with national expenditure frameworks. This partnership will ensure that natural capital is recognised not just as an environmental asset, but as part of the country’s economic and financial planning.

Exploration of Carbon Markets also marks another step forward in developing Namibia’s green-finance architecture. Once operationalised, it will enable the establishment of a national carbon registry, allowing verified emission reductions to generate value through responsible trading under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Its development signals Namibia’s commitment to building a transparent and credible market system that invites private-sector participation, promotes innovation, and channels benefits back into communities and landscapes that sustain these reductions.

At COP30, Namibia’s experience is being showcased through events such as “Financing Namibia’s Green Transition: Reforming Climate Finance for Fair Access” and regional discussions on the NCQG and climate investment reform. These discussions emphasise Namibia’s leadership in connecting fiscal policy, environmental planning, and community resilience, offering a model for other developing countries seeking fairer access to climate finance.

Namibia’s green transition is a story of inclusion, integrity, and innovation. With accessible and transparent financing, the country can expand renewable energy, restore ecosystems, and build economic opportunity from the ground up. Financing climate action is smart development, and a shared investment in a fairer, more resilient world.