30 June 2014: During the months of May and June, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have reported on various climate finance activities and projects, or published reports or newsletters related to climate finance.

On project news, the GEF announced, on 15 May 2014, the launch of the ‘Integrated Approach Pilot Program Fostering Sustainability and Resilience for Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa,’ a US$120 million initiative focused on safeguarding natural capital for environmental benefits while increasing resilience to climate change and extreme weather. The Pilot Program is a new approach for the GEF, as it aims to achieve a systemic management of food production systems to “break away from the legacy of agriculture systems exported to Africa without concern for the ecology of drylands, and instead bridge the gap between traditional and sustainable farming practices with modern technologies that seek higher yields.” [GEF Press Release]

On 27 June 2014, AfDB approved a pilot Africa Climate Technology Finance Center and Network, intended to assist in deploying and scaling climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies. Grants of US$9.09 million from the GEF Trust Fund and US$5.25 million from the GEF Special Climate Change Fund will support the project for its initial duration of three years. [AfDB Press Release]

Through the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), the Government of Japan is providing US$2 million for disaster risk management (DRM) in Cambodia. ADB will administer the grant, which will support Cambodia’s National Committee for Disaster Management as it integrates disaster risk response into national development planning and creates a coordinated strategy across government departments. According to ADB, Cambodia is expected to experience increasingly unpredictable flooding and droughts with climate change. The project will run from July 2014 to June 2016. [ADB Press Release]

In June, the AfDB Board of Directors approved a Framework Technical Cooperation Agreement, which will facilitate the donation of US$3.35 million over a five-year period from the UK to the Bank. The funds will be used to support the economic empowerment activities of AfDB, in particular, to implement the climate change action plan, promote gender equality, assist fragile States and improve AfDB’s results management culture. [AfDB Press Release]

Using the Green Carbon Fund of its Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund, managed jointly with EIB, EBRD facilitated the sale of seven million Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) from greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions in Slovakia to Spain in May. Slovakia will reinvest the funds received to decarbonize its economy, and the purchase will assist Spain in meeting its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. [EBRD Press Release]

On climate finance publications, on 2 May 2014, AfDB published the 25th issue of its ‘Carbon Finance Bimonthly Newsletter’ for March-April, which reports on the climate mitigation, adaptation, sustainable development and water management projects receiving support from the Bank, as well as a round-up of recent publications on climate finance. [AfDB Publication Webpage] [AfDB Carbon Finance Bimonthly Newsletter]

Also in May, AfDB published its first ‘Green Bonds Newsletter,’ which opens with a quote from AfDB Group President, Donald Kaberuka: “We have two challenges, fighting global poverty and fighting climate change. Fail one, fail the other.” The publication goes on to summarize climate-related projects using Green Bonds to generate financing, the worldwide distribution of the Bonds and their proliferation into new markets. [AfDB Publication Webpage] [AfDB Green Bonds Newsletter]

At the fifth GEF Assembly on 28 May 2014, IFAD and the GEF released a report detailing the projects they have partnered on to increase agricultural yields, improve livelihoods, repair ecosystems, and in so doing increase communities’ resilience to climate change. The report, titled ‘The IFAD-GEF Advantage: Partnering for a Sustainable World,’ details the results of such projects as peatland protection in South-East Asia, sustainable land management in Ethiopia and reforestation in Mexico. [IFAD Press Release] [The IFAD-GEF Advantage: Partnering for a Sustainable World]

Now in their sixth year, the CIF published a report of their activities titled ‘Learning by Doing: The CIF’s Contribution to Climate Finance.’ Based on interviews with stakeholders and a review of documentation, the report identifies CIF’s challenges, successes and lessons learned, especially in terms of its mission to “foster partnerships, deliver investment, and learn by doing to achieve results.” [CIF Publication Webpage] [Learning by Doing: The CIF’s Contribution to Climate Finance]

On 11 June 2014, EIB released two papers outlining its climate change-related activities, ‘Innovative Climate Finance’ and ‘Finance for Climate Action.’ The former details various financial instruments made available by the Bank to enterprises and industry looking for long-term financing. The latter summarizes the use and impact of the €19 billion of climate action lending that EIB facilitated in 2013, as well as the €88 billion total lent over 2009-2013. [EIB Publication Webpage] [Innovative Climate Finance] [EIB Publication Webpage] [Finance for Climate Action]

On 23 June 2014, AfDB published a brief report describing the Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF). The Fund was capitalized in April 2014 with a grant from Germany. According to the report, for its first year of operations, the Fund will focus on climate finance readiness activities. [AfDB Publication Webpage] [Africa Climate Change Fund – Helping Africa Access Climate Finance for a Transition to Climate Smart Development]

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