January 2014: During the month of January, the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and a number of regional development banks have approved funding for climate-related projects, or have forwarded climate project proposals for review. The projects address, inter alia: climate innovation in the Caribbean; climate-friendly agriculture; meteorological services; adaptation of small-scale agriculture; clean bus leasing; livelihood diversification; and renewable energy.

The GEF has circulated a number of project proposals for review by the GEF Council, including: a project on community resilience to climate change and disaster risk in Solomon Islands that aims to increase the capacity of selected rural communities to manage natural hazards and climate change risks; a project on adaptation of small-scale agriculture in Lesotho, which requests US$4.74 million from the the Least Developed Country Fund (LDCF), and aims to increase the resilience of small-scale agriculture to the impacts of climate change by promoting climate-resilient investments in agriculture-based development, as well as by enhancing the resilience of agricultural production under increased climate variability; the five-year ASTUD PRC program, which includes Bangladesh, China and Mongolia, and supports Asian cities in realizing greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions and local co-benefits through the integration of low-carbon and climate resilient transit infrastructure and transport services; and a project that aims to increase the adaptive capacity of vulnerable Rwandan communities to the adverse effects of climate change through livelihood diversification and investments in rural infrastructure, which requests US$9.66 million from the LDCF.

The World Bank has supported a business hub that will support the growing number of clean energy and climate technology ventures in the Caribbean region. The Caribbean Climate Innovation Center (CCIC) will help reduce the significant threats posed by climate change through the creation of new green businesses. The Bank also reported that its Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project (KACP) has issued its first carbon credits under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) for sequestering carbon in soil, as a result of changed agricultural land management practices that are climate-friendly. The World Bank also signed a loan agreement with the Russian Federation for the Second National Hydromet System Modernization Project (Roshydromet-2), financed by a loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The 2014-2019 project aims to assist the Russian Federal Service on Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring to further enhance the national capacity to deliver reliable and timely weather, hydrological and climate information to relevant stakeholders dependent on weather, water and climate.

The African Development Bank (AfDB), through its the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), approved two climate-related projects: a US$1-million project preparation grant to support Sotravic Ltd. in the development and installation of the Sea Water Air Conditioning (SWAC) System in Mauritius, an innovative low-carbon technology that lowers building cooling costs using cold ocean water; and a US$960,000 grant for the Jbel-Sendoug (Khalladi) Wind Project in Northern Morocco to support preparation activities to bring the project to bankability.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a loan of €7 million to BC Mobiasbancă – Groupe Société Générale SA for on-lending to private companies undertaking energy-saving measures and investing in renewable energy projects in Moldova. A previous energy efficiency loan of €3 million to Mobiasbancă earlier this year has already been used.

This ‘Climate Finance Update,’ a new feature of Climate Change Policy & Practice, will provide a monthly overview of investments by international financial institutions (IFIs) to address the challenge of climate change. [GEF Solomon Islands Project] [GEF Small-Scale Agriculture Project] [GEF ASTUD Program] [GEF Rwandan Project] [World Bank Press Release on the CCIC] [World Bank Press Release on the Kenyan Project] [World Bank Press Release on Russian Project] [AfDB Press Release on Mauritius Project] [AfDB Press Release on Moroccan Project] [EBRD Press Release on Moldova]

The SDG Knowledge Hub publishes monthly climate finance updates that focus on news and reports on projects and other finance-related developments by MDBs and key climate finance-related institutions. Past Climate Finance Updates can be found under the tag: Finance Update: Climate Change. Climate finance news and developments relating to renewable energy and energy efficiency are published in monthly Sustainable Energy Finance Updates, which can be found under the tag: Finance Update: Sustainable Energy