Uganda’s central bank has signed an agreement with the European Investment Bank’s development arm, EIB Global, to help the country’s financial sector better identify, manage and report climate-related risks.
EIB Global will provide technical assistance to the Bank of Uganda to develop a roadmap for “greening” the financial sector and to strengthen the central bank’s climate-risk disclosure framework — rules and reporting that require institutions to set out the climate-related risks they face, the EIB informed on Wednesday.
The support will also help put into practice Uganda’s National Green Taxonomy, launched in 2025, which defines what counts as an environmentally sustainable economic activity.
“Banks can’t manage a risk they can’t see,” EIB Vice-President Marco Primorac said.
The work will be delivered through the EIB Group’s Greening Financial Systems technical assistance programme, which is financed by the German and Luxembourg governments and coordinated with the NDC Partnership — a coalition of more than 270 countries and institutions supporting the Paris Agreement.
Uganda joins a group of countries already receiving support under the programme, including Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Vietnam.
Support also to extend to commercial banks
The Bank of Uganda said it wants to “strengthen resilience without unnecessarily constraining access to finance”, with Deputy Governor Prof. Augustus Nuwagaba calling for collaboration, technical expertise, reliable information and sustained implementation.
Uganda’s government has estimated it needs $28.1 billion for climate action by 2030, according to EIB Global, citing the country’s “National Climate Finance Strategy 2025–2030”.
EIB Global said its support will extend beyond the central bank to selected commercial banks to strengthen climate-risk management and disclosure and to develop policies and processes to expand green lending, with Housing Finance Bank named as the first lender set to benefit.
EU Ambassador to Uganda Jan Sadek said ensuring the financial sector can channel resources towards sustainable, climate-friendly solutions is “essential” to delivering climate action.
