At COP28: “More ambition” and faster action to address climate finance

Weather of Arabia - “We need more ambition, we need trillions, not billions,” said Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, President of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), during the virtual meeting of the heads of the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs).

• “I have three requests for you: MDBs must act across country programmes, review climate finance targets for the coming years, and reduce risks to the private sector. MDBs must play a key role in laying the foundations for a new framework.” climate finance.”
• Dr Al Jaber said multilateral development banks had made “good progress” on new initiatives to advance climate finance, but more was needed.
• “Today, you have demonstrated that together – through the joint action of the Multilateral Development Banks – we can lay the foundation for a climate finance architecture that is more fit-for-purpose for tackling climate and development.”
• “For this vision to become a reality, we need MDBs to work better together as a system, especially across country platforms.”
• She urged multilateral development banks to come to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) with a “strong joint declaration” on country platforms, “to demonstrate commitment to working together”.
• The multilateral development banks also requested “to come to the COP with revised and more ambitious common targets for climate finance for the coming years, especially on adaptation – reflecting the required ambition.”

“We need more ambition, we need trillions, not billions” to reform climate finance, the head of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), Dr Sultan Al Jaber, told the heads of the world’s largest development banks.

“Addressing climate finance is the cornerstone of the COP 28 agenda,” Dr. Al Jaber said in a virtual meeting, attended by the heads of 9 multilateral development banks and the Director General of the International Monetary Fund.

Dr. Al Jaber also told multilateral development banks that they have already made "good progress" on reform, including shareholders' approval of a new vision for the World Bank: creating a world free of poverty on a livable planet.

But with less than a month to go until the start of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) , now is the time to show “more ambition,” Dr. Al Jaber said. “We are pushing shareholders to recapitalize multilateral development banks.” "Appropriately, but we also need the multilateral development banks to do better."

The President of COP28 outlined his main demands for MDBs ahead of COP28, saying: “I have three requests for you. MDBs must work through country platforms, review climate finance targets for the coming years, and reduce risks for the sector.” Private. Multilateral development banks must play a key role in laying the foundations for a new climate finance framework. Speaking a day after the preliminary meeting of the Conference of the Parties - which was the largest to date and attended by more than 70 ministers and 100 state delegates - Dr Al Jaber accepted the calls These calls include the Nairobi Declaration, launched at African Climate Week in September, which called for a global climate finance pact by 2025.

Dr. Al Jaber said shifting MDB financing away from a project-by-project approach to country programs was central to his presidency's plans to improve access to climate finance, ensuring it is accessible, affordable and available.

“For this new vision to become a reality, we need the MDBs to work better together as a system, especially across country platforms,” Dr. Al Jaber said.

“I now ask you to come to the COP with a strong joint declaration on country programs and demonstrate commitment to working together,” Dr Al Jaber told the bank presidents.

The President of COP28 also asked the multilateral development banks “to come to the COP with revised and more ambitious targets for climate joint financing for the coming years, especially on adaptation that reflects the required ambition.”

“There is an urgent need for multilateral development banks to scale up adaptation financing – and expand climate finance to include sectors such as food, water, health, nature and biodiversity,” the COP28 President said.

“Multilateral development banks must also step up mobilization of private finance – setting targets and methodologies for mobilizing private finance, especially for mitigation,” he added.

Dr Al Jaber said the IMF would also have a “critical role in delivering climate finance”, and should show “good progress” at COP28 on the Resilience and Sustainability Fund (RST) and support the redirection of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to... Multilateral development banks.

The President of COP28 also called for a forum next year to assess progress on the multilateral development bank reform agenda. “In business, I learned that measuring progress is essential to achieving progress,” he said.

Dr. Al Jaber invited the heads of the multilateral development banks to a high-level event on the occasion of COP 28 Finance Day on reform of international financial institutions and commended them for their support so far.

“Today, you have demonstrated that together – through the joint action of the Multilateral Development Banks – we can lay the foundation for a climate finance architecture that is more fit-for-purpose for tackling climate and development,” he said.

Source: cop28