The cumulative investments required by Tunisia to ensure adaptation and mitigation of the effects of climate change and decarbonise the energy sector will amount to around USD 55 billion, or the equivalent of around TND 170.2 billion, by 2050, Massimiliano Cali, senior economist, World Bank (WB) office in Tunis, said on Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference organised by the World Bank to present the National Report on Climate and Development in Tunisia, published as a prelude to COP28, Cali explained that these investments are divided into $17.055 billion (TND 52.8 billion) to address water scarcity, $2.230 billion (TND 6.9 billion) to increase resilience to rising sea levels and flooding, and $34.677 billion (TND 107.3 billion) to ensure energy transition and decarbonisation.
Cali noted that these estimates are based on the World Bank report released Wednesday, which details public policies and investment opportunities that can reduce the impact of climate change on people and businesses, and improve
the competitiveness of the Tunisian economy.
According to the report, effective policies and a combination of measures to address water scarcity, sea level rise and flooding, as well as deep energy decarbonisation, could boost real GDP growth to 9.1% by 2050, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 98.3%, and increase private investment by 2.4%.
The cost of inaction by 2050 would be a 9.4% deterioration in the current account, a 28.6% decline in agricultural value added and a 6.4% contraction in real GDP.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse