Report Shows Multilateral Development Banks Rose Climate Finance To $66bn In 2020

AFDB

The 2020 Joint Report on Multilateral Development Banks’ Climate Finance has shown that eight MDBs committed $66 billion for climate finance in 2020, up from $61.6 billion.

Of the total, 58 per cent was committed in low- and middle-income countries.

The total climate co-finance committed during 2020 alongside MDB resources was $85 billion.

Together, MDB climate finance and climate co-finance totalled more than $151 billion, while the amount of private direct mobilisation stood at $5.9 billion.

According to Amba Mpoke-Bigg of the Communication and External Relations Department of the African Development Bank, the 2020 MDB report, coordinated by the EBRD, combines data from the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) (www.ADB.org), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) (www.AIIB.org), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) (www.EBRD.org), the European Investment Bank (EIB) (www.EIB.org), the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDBG) (www.IADB.org), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the World Bank Group (WBG) (www.WorldBank.org).

In the past six years, the MDBs have jointly committed a total of $257 billion in climate finance, of which $186 billion was directed at low- and middle-income economies.

The annual report is a key indicator on the progress MDBs are making on accelerating the delivery of climate finance, for which demand is clearly going to grow over time.

This year’s report marks the end of the reporting period tracking individual climate finance pledges since 2015; for most, 2021 will mark the start of a new increase in ambition.

The 2020 report, which is the tenth in the series, said theMDBs will continue to improve their tracking and reporting of climate finance in the context of their commitments to ensure consistent financial flows to the countries’ long-term, low-carbon and climate-resilient development pathways, as established in Article 2.1 of the Paris Agreement.

“Of the 2020 total of $66 billion, $63 billion came from the MDBs’ own accounts and almost $3 billion from external resources channelled through and managed by MDBs. These included the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), Green Climate Fund (GCF) and climate-related funds under the Global Environment Facility (GEF), EU blending facilities and others.

 

“The African Development Bank’s share of climate change related investments has increased four-fold from 2016 to 2019 and is expected to reach 40% of the Bank’s total investment at the end of 2021,” said Mr. Al-Hamndou Dorsouma, Officer-In-Charge Director of Climate Change and Green Growth at the African Development Bank on Thursday.

“We are on track to mobilize the target of $25 billion between 2020 and 2025 to support investments that address climate change and promote green growth,” he added.

Dorsouma explained that the 2020 financing helped play a key role in supporting countries to embed green and climate-focused solutions as part of their recoveries from the impact of COVID-19.

The 2020 report said while these programmes affected MDBs’ normal lending operations and thus the delivery of their climate finance targets, seeing the total commitments for low- and middle-income countries dip from 2019’s $41.5 billion, interventions and support from the MDBs laid a solid foundation for “building back better” for a greener, more resilient, post-Covid-19 future.

 

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