This year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) witnessed significant financial commitments from countries, development institutions, and corporations in various fields, including energy transition, healthcare initiatives, technology investments, disaster relief, and more. Here are some of the major funding pledges at COP28:
Climate Finance
• The UAE’s Major Pledge: The UAE, as the host, committed over $83 billion in the first five days of the conference.
• The UAE’s $30 Billion Fund: The UAE announced a $30 billion fund for climate-friendly projects globally, including $5 billion for developing countries in the Global South.
• World Bank’s Climate Financing: The World Bank aims to increase its climate financing to represent 45% of its total loans, a $9 billion annual increase.
• Inter-American Development Bank: Over $2 billion will be invested annually until 2030 in Latin America for climate change mitigation.
• Asian Development Bank’s Commitment: The bank will allocate $10 billion for climate activities in the Philippines from 2024 to 2029.
• Japan and France Support: These nations will support the African Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank’s use of IMF’s Special Drawing Rights for climate and development.
• Emirati Banks’ Trillion Dirham Pledge: UAE banks committed to mobilizing around 270 billion USD for green financing.
• Philanthropic and Private Investment: Charitable donors like Bezos Earth Fund joined the World Bank’s private investment arm in a project to generate $11 billion in investments in developing countries.
Loss and Damage
• New Fund for Vulnerable Countries: Following an agreement to establish a fund for aiding poor countries with climate change impacts, contributions have reached $726 million.
• Contributions from Italy and Netherlands: Italy contributed 100 million euros, and the Netherlands provided 15 million euros.
Green Climate Fund
• $3.5 Billion in Pledges: This largest global fund for supporting climate-related activities in developing countries received new pledges, including fresh funding from the USA.
Renewable Energy
• Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ Fund: The Danish investment company aims to raise $3 billion for a new fund focused on developing renewable energy projects in emerging and middle-income countries.
These commitments reflect a global effort to address the escalating challenges of climate change, emphasizing the need for increased investment and collaboration across nations and sectors.
Technology Investments
• The Arab Fund for Energy, focusing on the Middle East and North Africa, pledged up to $1 billion over the next five years in carbon emission reduction technologies.
• The United States granted a $568 million loan to multilateral climate investment funds for the Clean Technology Fund, supporting low-carbon technology development in emerging and developing economies.
Methane Gas Mitigation
• The UAE contributed $100 million to the new World Bank’s Methane Trust Fund aimed at reducing flaring and potent greenhouse gas emissions.
• Around a dozen charitable institutions committed $450 million over the next three years to support national actions to tackle methane emissions.
Food Security
• The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, along with the UAE, pledged a total of $200 million to help smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia build resilience and adapt to climate change impacts.
Nature Conservation
• The Brazilian Development Bank launched a $205 million initiative to restore and rehabilitate degraded or destroyed forests in the Amazon, covering a total area of 60,000 square kilometers by 2030.
Health Initiatives
• The UAE and several charities provided funding of $777 million to eradicate diseases in neglected tropical regions, expected to worsen with rising temperatures.
Emergency Relief
• The World Bank announced the expansion of climate-resilient debt terms, which suspend debt repayments during natural disasters, to include all current loans for the most vulnerable countries.
• The UAE, UK, Germany, and the USA contributed just over $300 million to a new fund for climate disaster response.
These commitments at COP28 demonstrate a global effort toward addressing the challenges of climate change and the importance of diversified investment and collaboration across nations and sectors.
