Burundi, Kenya, Congo, Ghana, and Rwanda receive funding for nature restoration: The World Resources Institute has secured USD 100 mn from the Audacious Project funding initiative to accelerate nature restoration activities in three African regions over the next four years, Bloomberg reports. The grant will be used to encourage tree planting and deepen local knowledge and skills on restoration. It will also be used to propose, implement, and monitor supportive policies through direct investments in local community-based organizations and SMEs. This is part of a USD 500 mn fundraising target by the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative — a group of 33 countries that aims to restore 100 mn hectares of land by 2030. USD 50 mn were already secured from the Bezos Earth Fund last year. The three regions covered by the initiative are the Great Rift Valley of Kenya, the Ghana Cocoa Belt, and the Lake Kivu & Rusizi River Basin in Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Minerals jackpot for the UK? Several areas in the UK have been identified as potentially prospective for critical raw materials, a report by the British Geological Survey (BGS) finds, as the country aims to establish a minerals supply chain amid a clean transition push. Eight key areas have been identified as worthy of more research, according to BGS, although it stressed that there are no assurances that deposits will be found. “Much more research is required and, if prospectors find evidence of commercially viable [critical raw material] deposits, they will have to go through the well-established planning process. Only one in a thousand potential mineral exploration projects ever becomes an operating mine,” said BGS Mineral Resource geologist Eimear Deady.

Critical raw materials? These are minerals that are considered “economically important,” such as those used to make batteries and other equipment needed for clean transition, BGS explains.

More funding for Tanzania’s renewables: Tanzania, the African Development Bank and the French Development Agency signed two development project loan agreements worth USD 300 mn for the construction of the country’s 87.8 MW Kakono hydropower plant, according to a statement released on Friday. The hydropower project aims to raise renewable generation capacity and lessen the hydrological risk through a dam located on a new watershed less impacted by droughts. It is set to slash greenhouse gas emissions by c. 216k metric tons per year and serve 4 mn people, according to the statement.

Regional players have their eye on Tanzania: Masdar signed an agreementwith Tanzania to develop renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 2 GW without disclosing the project cost or location last year.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

  • Indian steel manufacturer Tata Steel is reportedly looking to raise some USD 400 mn from its planned maiden green bond issuance. (Asharq Business)
  • Japan's Nissan Motor revealed its new electric SUV, the Arizon, during a Shanghai auto show on Tuesday. Nissan is looking to compete in the EV market with local Chinese manufacturing companies including BYD. (Reuters)
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