Development Bank Climate Finance Rose 22% to Record $43 Billion

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Development banks committed a record $43 billion in climate finance last year, a jump of almost $8 billion on 2017’s figure and the biggest surge ever reported.

The co-finance attached to the multilateral development bank money added another $68.1 billion, taking the year’s total to more than $111 billion, according to a report by six banks including the World Bank Group. More than a third of that total was from private sources.

“The MDBs are key partners in drawing more private-sector investors and large institutional investors into the green-finance sector,” said Josue Tanaka, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s managing director for energy efficiency and climate change.

The banks are boosting finance ahead of the start of the Paris climate deal next year, an agreement that’s meant to cut greenhouse-gas emissions globally. Developed countries are trying to encourage emerging ones to limit emissions after three decades of climate talks failed to stem output of greenhouse gases, which are at record levels globally.

More than two thirds of the $43 billion is being spent on projects that reduce emissions, with the remaining money helping nations adapt to warmer temperatures, increased flooding and longer droughts. Collectively, the banks have committed $237 billion in the past eight years.

Source: Bloomberg Business News