30 August 2017: Typically a quiet month for multilateral news, the month of August nevertheless saw momentum in green bonds, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) raising US$1.25 billion. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) announced an indicative timeline for the consideration of funding proposals at the Fund’s upcoming board meetings. The UNFCCC launched the first edition of its ‘Adaptation Finance Bulletin,’ which contains news and updates on key climate funds and bodies, as well as the UNFCCC.

Green Bonds: ADB Raises US$1.25 Billion, BNEF Finds ‘Headroom for Further Growth’

The ADB announced it had raised US$1.25 billion for financing climate change mitigation and adaptation projects through an issuance of green bonds. The issuance represents the Bank’s second dual-tranche green bond offering. [ADB Press Release]

A review of the green bonds in 2016 by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) found that “issuance boomed… despite the slowdown in new clean energy investment,” registering US$95.1 billion in new issues. According to the report, “the green bond market has plenty of headroom for further growth” as governments are about to enter at scale and “banks are growing more comfortable with raising capital by selling green notes.” [BNEF Report Webpage]

UNFCCC-UNSSC Webinar Updates on Climate and Development Finance

The UNFCCC and UN System Staff College (UNSSC) hosted a webinar titled, ‘Climate and Sustainable Development Finance: Can We Bank on It?’ as part of a seven-episode webinar series on climate action. The webinar provided an update on climate and development finance, and investment policy and action, including related challenges and opportunities. [UNFCCC Press Release] [UNCCS SD Talks Special Series Webpage]

The first Members Meeting of the CIF Stakeholder Advisory Network focused on the Network’s vision, objectives, operational modalities, governance and initial action plan.

Also, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) reported on the first Members Meeting of its Stakeholder Advisory Network (SAN) on climate finance, which took place during the UNFCCC intersessional meetings in Bonn in May. The SAN serves as a “cooperative platform to bring together climate finance actors across major existing climate funds,” with the aims of strengthening cooperation and coordination among climate funds, engaging non-state actors in climate finance and enhancing “good climate governance.” The first meeting focused on the Network’s vision, objectives, operational modalities, governance and initial action plan. The meeting agreed to a set of working principles and the scope of the Network’s activities, priority areas and timelines. [CIF Press Release]

GCF Announces Timeline for Consideration of Proposals

The GCF Board announced an indicative timeline for its consideration of funding proposals, which includes key dates and deadlines leading to the Board’s next two meetings in late September 2017 and late February 2018. [GCF Press Release on Proposal Schedule]

The GCF also signed Accreditation Master Agreements (AMAs) with the ADB and India’s National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). [GCF press Release on ADB] [GCF Press Release on NABARD]

August 2017 Resources

The UNFCCC launched the first edition of its ‘Adaptation Finance Bulletin,’ which will provide updates “to Parties and other interested stakeholders on adaptation finance-related information from funds, UNFCCC bodies and negotiations, as well as an overview of relevant upcoming events.” The August 2017 edition contains news on the GCF (including on funding, board decisions, procedure and key deadlines), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Adaptation Fund (AF), the Adaptation Committee (AC), the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Expert Group (LEG), the Standing Committee on Finance (SCF) and UNFCCC negotiations. The bulletin also includes a timeline of upcoming adaptation finance-relevant multilateral events and meetings through December 2017. [UNFCCC Adaptation Finance Bulletin No. 1]

Also in August, the GCF released a fact sheet titled ‘GCF in Numbers,’ which contains key figures and results of the Fund as of the second quarter of 2017. According to the bulletin, projects currently in the Fund’s pipeline, valued at US$3.4 billion, are expected to avoid 552 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and increase the climate resilience of 87 million people. [GCF in Numbers 2017.Q2]

* * *

The SDG Knowledge Hub publishes monthly climate finance updates, which largely focus on multilateral financing and cover, inter alia, mitigation and adaptation project financing news and lessons, institutional events and news, and latest developments in carbon markets and pricing. Past IISD climate finance updates can be found under the tags: Finance Update: Climate Change; and Finance Update: Sustainable Energy.