30 April 2015: During April 2015, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO), the Adaptation Fund, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the World Bank, Climate Finance Options and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) DTU Partnership reported on project news and other climate finance-related developments.
ADB, AfDB, the European Investment Bank (EIB), IDB, CIF, the Adaptation Fund, the World Bank, Climate Finance Options, UNEP, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Nordic Council of Ministers launched publications, evaluations and short briefs, and reported on events.
On projects, ADB and Cambodia signed an agreement on a US$7.4 million grant to enhance the climate resilience of communities in two Cambodian provinces. Financed by the CIF Strategic Climate Fund (SCF), the grant will be used to create rainwater harvesting ponds, introduce drought-resilient crops and rehabilitate an irrigation scheme, among others. [ADB Press Release]
AfDB reported on US$101,000 funding of the CIF Forest Investment Program (FIP) that will go to Burkina Faso’s Gazetted Forests Participatory Management Project for REDD+, and Decentralized Forest and Woodland Management Project. [AfDB Press Release]
AfDB also reported on its progress toward becoming an accredited agency of the GCF, and informed it aims to reach this goal in July 2015. Furthermore, AfDB announced it will offset the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from transportation and electricity consumption during its Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 25-29 May 2015. The raised funds will be used to support an efficient cookstove project in Cameroon. [AfDB Press Release on GCF] [AfDB Press Release on Offsets]
IDB announced that, based on the Bank’s annual Sustainability Report for 2014, it committed a total of US$4.4 billion in projects in the areas of climate change adaptation and mitigation, renewable energy, and environmental sustainability. The investments represented a third of the Bank’s lending that year. [IDB Press Release] [IISD RS Story on IDB Annual Report]
NEFCO reported on five new agreements for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects under the fourth call for proposals on inclusive green growth of the Nordic Climate Facility’s (NCF). With a total budget of €1.8 million (US$2.0 million), of which 60% is covered by NCF, the five projects center on, inter alia, sustainable biofuels in Uganda, climate-smart agriculture in Kenya and roadmaps for nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) in Honduras and Nicaragua. [NEFCO Press Release]
The Adaptation Fund announced US$9.5 million in project funding for adaptation to climate-induced threats to food production and food security in Nepal’s Karnali mountain districts. [Adaptation Fund Press Release]
The CIF Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) Sub-Committee approved a US$10 million credit for a climate-smart small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financing project in Bangladesh. CIF PPCR also approved US$13 million in additional financing for the Regional Disaster Vulnerability Resilience Project (RDVRP) that aims to reduce vulnerability to natural hazards and climate change impacts in Grenada, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Furthermore, the Government of Grenada and the World Bank organized a consultation to review the implementation of the Grenada Strategic Program for Climate Resilience (SPCR). [CIF Press Release on Bangladesh] [CIF Press Release on Grenada]
The GCF announced that, by 30 April 2015, total contributions to the Fund had reached US$4 billion, which represented 42% of the amount committed during the Fund’s initial pledging conference in 2014. It noted that contributing Governments had authorized allocations of up to US$4.7 billion and called upon all other Governments to urgently finalize their agreements to ensure that resource allocations can start as planned. [GCF Press Release]
The World Bank approved a US$3.3 million grant for an environmental management project in Maldives that will build local capacity to manage risks and threats to coral reefs and marine habitats resulting from tourism development, solid waste disposal, fisheries and climate change. [World Bank Press Release]
The UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) and World Bank’s Climate Finance Options platform announced that the NAMA Facility, a joint programme of the German, UK and Danish Governments and the European Commission, will organize a third call for NAMA Support Project Outlines, expected to run through 15 July 2015. [Climate Finance Options Press Release]
The UNEP DTU Partnership reported on project outcomes and experiences from: a Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) process in Moldova funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF); and the African Carbon Asset Development (ACAD) facility that aimed to accelerate the growth of the regional carbon market. [UNEP DTU Press Release on Moldova] [UNEP DTU Press Release on ADAC]
In April, ADB, EIB, the World Bank and the Nordic Council of Ministers published climate finance-related reports and studies. According to ADB’s Annual Report 2014, the Bank mobilized US$3.2 billion in funding to address climate change in 2014. An ADB brochure presents the current state of knowledge and experiences in ecosystem-based approaches (EbA) to climate change-related challenges in the Greater Mekong Subregion. [ADB Press Release on Annual Report] [ADB Publication on EbA]
EIB’s 2014 Activity Report includes a section on ‘Finance at Work for Climate Action and the Environment,’ and a brochure presents examples of innovative climate finance products in which the Bank participates. EIB also reported on its support to a sustainable energy programme in the city of Bristol, UK, which has been awarded the title of European Green Capital 2015. [EIB 2014 Activity Report] [EIB Publication on Climate Finance Products] [EIB Press Release on Bristol]
A World Bank report on Africa evaluates the potential economic impacts of climate change on the region’s infrastructure, and recommends ways to incorporate climate resilience into infrastructure planning and design, in particular in the power and water sectors. The report highlights that the benefits of adaptation outweigh the costs of modifying current investment plans. [World Bank Publication on Climate Resilience in Africa] [World Bank Story on the Report] [World Bank Press Release on the Report]
A study published by the Nordic Council of Ministers examines the Nordic climate finance landscape and presents key points and lessons learned from the case of the NCF that can be used for replication and scaling up of future climate actions.[Norden Publication on Climate Finance Opportunities]
On shorter publications, an IDB blog post presents the Pachamama Agricultural Insurance Program developed in Bolivia to help farmers cope with extreme weather event-related losses. A CIF blog post and a Youtube video examine Nepal’s experience with the CIF PPCR and its country-specific Strategic Program for Climate Resilience (SPCR). The World Bank published stories on: green bonds; ways to close the US$70 billion gap in climate finance flows from developed to developing countries; and effects of climate change on unborn babies and their mothers. [IDB Blog Post] [CIF Blog Post] [CIF Video on Youtube] [World Bank Story on Green Bonds] [World Bank Story on Finance Gap] [World Bank Story on Health]
UNEP reported that Bangladesh spends US$1 billion each year on climate change adaptation, which equals to 6-7% of the country’s annual budget. [UNEP Press Release]
The OECD’s Environmental Performance Review of Poland concluded that the country needs to decrease its economic reliance on fossil fuels and “green” its growth. [OECD Press Relase]
AfDB, the Adaptation Fund, Climate Finance Options and the World Bank published news on climate finance-relevant events. AfDB reported on: a meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the CFA franc zone member States, held from 9-10 April 2015, in Bamako, Mali, which included a roundtable on climate change; and the Africa Carbon Forum, organized from 13-15 April in Marrakesh, Morocco, where African ministers called for a strong, universal climate agreement and increased flows of funds. [AfDB Press Release on CFA Franc Zone Meeting] [AfDB Press Release on Africa Carbon Forum]
The 25th Adaptation Fund Board (AFB) meeting, which took place from 7-10 April 2015, in Bonn, Germany, approved financing for projects in India, Jordan and Morocco, introduced a new accreditation process, and accredited two new implementing entities. [Adaptation Fund Press Release]
Climate Finance Options announced a dialogue event on Climate Finance for Development, co-organized by the Peruvian and French UN Climate Change Conference Presidencies and UNDP on 16 April in New York, US. [Climate Investment Options Event Webpage]
The World Bank organized a public-private dialogue on Scaling Up Finance for Climate Action in Washington D.C., US, on 16 April. A video recording is available on the event webpage. At the Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day event, held in Washington D.C. on 18 April, Norway announced an investment of US$12 million to pollution reduction in developing countries. Commitments were also made by Nigeria, Egypt and Germany. [World Bank Dialogue Event Webpage] [World Bank Press Release on Global Citizen Event]
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