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Commentary

A Truly Global Response to Climate Change

BONN – Climate action is not just about controlling global temperatures. It can also be a driver of development and poverty reduction all over the world. At the COP 23 Climate Conference in Bonn, Germany, in November, multilateral development institutions showed themselves to be more committed than ever to the urgent and central issue of supporting and financing these critical goals.


Today’s political climate is uncertain. But climate change is not. Partnership around the world must be maintained in the global effort to achieve a smooth transition to low carbon and climate-smart development. Multilateral development institutions have never been more relevant.

Climate-smart development also makes good economic and business sense, particularly when it comes to sustainable infrastructure. We have already witnessed tremendous growth in renewable energy, creating with it new business opportunities and jobs. Many climate-smart investments can also reduce air pollution and congestion. Building resilience now saves money later. We are committed to supporting a climate-smart future.

As multilateral development institutions, we reconfirm our commitment to the Paris climate agreement. Our role is to facilitate the public and private finance that is a vital part of the climate solution.

That is why, two years after the Paris accord was successfully negotiated, we are increasingly aligning actions and resources in support of developing countries’ goals. In July, the G20 Sustainability Action Plan embedded the Paris agreement in G20 policies and noted that more effective use of financing from multilateral development institutions is key to innovation and private investment in climate action.

In 2016 alone, multilateral development institutions committed over $27 billion in climate finance, and we continue to step up our work, determined to broaden the private and public finance mobilized for climate action at COP 23.

We commit to:

• Deliver on the promises that we made in 2015 to increase our support for climate investments in developing countries by 2020, both from our direct financing and from our mobilization efforts;

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• Increase mobilization of private-sector investment by supporting policy and regulatory reforms. This includes aligning price signals, making innovative use of policy and finance instruments and, as applicable, leveraging concessional (below-market-rate) finance to help scale up public and private investment in climate projects.

• Strengthen international efforts by working together and with other development finance institutions, to increase transparency and consistency in tracking climate finance tracking and reporting greenhouse-gas emissions;

• Put climate change at the heart of what we do, bringing climate policy into the mainstream of our activities, and aligning financial flows to the Paris agreement;

• Support countries, cities, and territories with their own climate action plans and build the conditions for an ambitious next generation of such contributions; and

• Work with our clients to support initiatives that protect the most climate-vulnerable areas, including small island developing states, while mobilizing more finance for developing countries to build resilience and to adapt their infrastructure, communities, ecosystems, and businesses to the consequences of climate change.

Each of these measures supports our strong commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. By pursuing them, climate action will become a key part of the international community’s work to place infrastructure and the rollout of new technologies and policies for energy, water, and mobility at the core of sustainable development.

This is a serious response to a serious challenge. Climate change poses a grave threat to the natural environment, to economic growth, and to the lives of all people around the world, especially the poorest and most vulnerable.

It is fitting that this threat to national economies and to every person on earth, and the opportunity to counter it, should be tackled with the backing of multilateral development institutions. We call on others to join us in placing climate action at the center of their business, stepping up climate finance, and tracking its impact around the world.

Akinwumi Adesina is President of the African Development Bank. Suma Chakrabarti is President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Bandar M. H. Hajjar is President of the Islamic Development Bank. Werner Hoyer is President of the European Investment Bank. Kundapur Vaman Kamath is President of the New Development Bank. Jim Yong Kim is President of the World Bank. Jin Liqun is President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Luis Alberto Moreno is President of the Inter-American Development Bank. Takehiko Nakao is President of the Asian Development Bank.

By Akinwumi Adesina, Suma Chakrabarti, Bandar M. H. Hajjar, Werner Hoyer, Kundapur Vaman Kamath, Jim Yong Kim, Jin Liqun, Luis Alberto Moreno, and Takehiko Nakao

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