1 July 2015: During the month of June, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank, the Adaptation Fund, the World Agroforestry Centre, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) DTU Partnership reported on climate finance projects and other related news. ADB, AfDB, GCF, the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Partnership for Market Readiness (PMR), the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), the UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) launched publications.

On climate finance news and developments, ADB approved a loan of more than U$220 million to help Pakistan rebuild and upgrade roads, bridges and other high-priority infrastructure damaged by floods in 2014. The loan will support “a build-back-better approach” that incorporates multi-hazard-resistant features into the restored infrastructure. Pakistan will also receive a US$125 million loan from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) for restoring flood protection infrastructure and strengthening government capacity to manage disasters and climate variability. [ADB Press Release on Pakistan] [World Bank Press Release on Pakistan]

ADB also approved a loan of US$453 million to enable Sri Lanka to complete a programme to transfer water from the country’s largest river to its dry zone region. The water trasfer aims to boost agriculture and household incomes where already low rainfall is expected to further diminish due to climate change. [ADB Press Release on Sri Lanka]

ADB further approved a U$4.4 million regional technical assistance initiative, financed by the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), that will help Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Viet Nam respond to climate-induced health threats. The assistance is part of ADB’s Operational Plan for Health 2015-2020, launched in June. [ADB Press Release on Greater Mekong Subregion]

ADB also announced it joined the US-led Climate Services for Resilient Development partnership, a public-private partnership that will aim to provide high-quality scientific data and tools to developing countries for improved climate change planning. Bangladesh, Colombia and Ethiopia will be the first countries to benefit from the initiative. [ADB Press Release on Climate Services Partnership]

AfDB reported on the approval by the GEF of US$35 million for improving climate resilience in Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, Zambia and other African countries through, inter alia, enhanced food security, urban mobility, natural resources management and agro-forestry projects. [AfDB Press Release on GEF Funding]

AfDB also reported on a dialogue event with civil society organizations (CSOs) to advance Africa’s climate-smart development, organized on 28 May, during the AfDB Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. [AfDB Press Release on Civil Society Dialogue]

IDB announced a US$50 million expansion of its Climate and Clean Energy Facility for innovative climate change projects. The Facility identifies projects and offers loans to private-sector companies for energy efficiency, self-supply renewable energy, and water and other adaptation investments. [IDB Press Release on Climate Facility]

IDB’s Regional Fund of Agricultural Technology (FONTAGRO) launched a call for proposals for its ‘Concurso Casos Exitosos 2015′ contest, which will award up to US$15,000 for innovations developed and adopted by family farmers in the areas of production efficiency and climate change adaptation. The deadline for submissions is 16 July 2015. [IDB Contest Announcement]

The World Bank approved US$32.29 million in IDA grants and credits to the Pacific Resilience Program that aims to strengthen Pacific Island countries’ resilience to natural disasters, with initial assistance to Samoa, Tonga, Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS). [World Bank Press Release]

The World Bank, ADB and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) launched an initiative to support the modernization and strengthening of Sub-Saharan African meteorological and hydrological services. ‘Strengthening Climate and Disaster Resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa’ aims to build resilience to extreme weather events and support economic development in the region. [World Bank Press Release] [World Bank Feature Story]

The Adaptation Fund approved the third part of funding, totaling US$1.8 million, for a UNEP project titled ‘Implementation of Concrete Adaptation Measures to Reduce Vulnerability of Livelihoods and Economy of Coastal Communities of Tanzania.’ [Adaptation Fund Press Release]

The World Agroforestry Centre announced it will lead on a US$2 million project, funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), that will help smallholder farmers in West Africa to adapt to climate change.[World Agroforestry Centre Press Release]

UNISDR, Caricom Today and CDB reported on activities carried out in the Caribbean. UNISDR announced the funding from the EU of US$10 million for 14 risk reduction projects in the region in support of the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Caricom Today wrote on a new regional funding programme under which the EU will provide €61.5 million for improving climate resilience and capacity for sustainable natural resource use, and promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy in the Caribbean. CDB announced two grants for Jamaica, funded from its Community Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (CDRRF): a US$645,000 grant to a disaster risk management project to promote community access to climate resilient infrastructure and crop production techniques; and a US$641,000 grant to an integrated land management and disaster risk reduction (DRR) project. [UNISDR Press Release] [Caricom Today Story] [CDB Press Release 1] [CDB Press Release 2]

The GEF reported on its support to preparations by developing countries of their intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) through: support to 46 individual countries, totalling US$11.3 million; the National Communications Support Programme (NCSP); and participation in regional technical dialogues on INDCs. [GEF Press Release] [NCSP Website]

The GCF reported on the status of pledges and contributions made to the GCF as of 16 June, noting that 34 governments had made pledges, including eight developing countries, and informing that the total amount of contributions signed, at US$5.8 billion, equalled to 61.5% of the total amount pledged. [GCF Pledge Tracker]

The UNEP-DTU Partnership reported on the third call for submissions of ADMIRE (Adapation, Mitigation, Readiness), a joint project with the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) that aims to encourage private investment in mitigation and adaptation actions. ADMIRE develops ideas into nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) and actions to support national adaptation plans (NAPs). The deadline for submissions is 20 August 2015. [UNEP DTU Partnership Press Release] [ADMIRE Website]

In June, ADB, AfDB, the World Bank, IFC, PMR, CIF, GCF, IFAD and UNEP-FI launched reports and studies, and published stories and other informative material on, inter alia, inclusive growth as an adaptation strategy, green bonds, disaster risk finance, and China’s carbon market.

A report by ADB’s Independent Evaluation titled ‘To Foster Inclusive Growth, Tackle Inequality and Climate Change,’ concludes that “improving access to economic opportunities, assets and financial services, and institutional capacity will help the poor cope with the impacts of climate change.” Highlighting a country from its ‘Pacific Energy Update 2015,’ ADB reported that its investment programme in Tonga includes measures to promote environmental sustainability, disaster risk management and climate change adaptation. [ADB Story on Independent Evaluation Publication] [ADB Independent Evaluation Publication] [ADB Press Release on Tonga]

AfDB’s latest Climate Finance newsletter, from March-April 2015, presents developments in the areas of green growth, renewable energy, resilience and development, and synergies and partnerships in Africa. [AfDB Climate Finance Newsletter March-April 2015]

The World Bank published: a brief on green bonds and recent developments; and an infographic on disaster risk finance, providing an overview of the costs of disasters for different actors and highlighting solutions. The World Bank’s IFC launched a study titled ‘Investing in a Time of Climate Change,’ which concludes that “that implications of climate change pose serious risks for investors and that integrating climate risks into investment strategies can help with investor return outcomes.” [World Bank Story on Green Bonds] [World Bank Infographic on Disaster Risk Finance] [IFC Press Release] [IFC Climate Change Study 2015]

The World Bank’s PMR released: a manual titled ‘Checklist on Establishing Post-2020 Emission Pathways,’ which seeks to support countries in the development and presentation of medium- and long-term emission pathways; and the first issue of the ‘China Carbon Market Monitory,’ which will provide “timely information across the seven Chinese pilot carbon markets” and “analysis of climate policy and market developments.” [PMR Publication on Emission Pathways] [PMR China Carbon Market Monitor]

CIF launched a video on the Funds’ contribution to climate-smart development. [CIF Video]

The GCF published the second issue of its ‘GCF Dispatch,’ a compilation of news on the development of the Fund, with a focus on the GCF’s operationalization in the run-up to the UN Paris Climate Change Conference in December 2015. [GCF Dispatch June 2015]

IFAD reported on a study conducted by the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, and funded by IFAD, which found that rural development projects that fund adaptation to climate change can increase small farmers’ household incomes by up to 50%. [IFAD Press Release]

UNEP-FI released a case study of a South African insurance industry company that discusses: climate-related challenges faced by the finance sector; the role of climate information; and an organizational response to these challenges. [UNEP-FI Publication on South Africa]

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