Economists and finance leaders convened by the COP28 Presidency have agreed steps to create a new framework for international climate finance and a roadmap on how to implement it to drive progress at the UN-convened COP28 climate meeting and beyond.
The work is aiming to rapidly increase international climate finance before 2030 to support emerging markets and developing economies.
COP28 president-designate Sultan Al Jaber said that the new framework needs to cover both adaptation and mitigation and needs to “unlock a supercharged stream of private capital”.
Economists from the Independent High-Level Expert Group met with global institutions including the World Bank, IMF, ECF and IFC, the COP28 and COP27 presidencies and UN Climate Change high-level champions on August 15–16 in Abu Dhabi. The UAE will host COP28 later this year.
The new framework will focus on addressing debt distress in vulnerable countries and the role of the private sector in delivering increased finance to meet the estimated US$2.4trn of investment required annually by 2030 to tackle climate change in emerging markets and developing economies.
The implementation roadmap is aiming to give UN agencies, the IMF, World Bank, regional multilateral development banks, national governments and the private sector short and long-term plans to achieve the Paris Agreement and create an action plan for international climate finance.
Al Jaber also called for “innovative new mechanisms for managing country risk”, and said that multilateral development banks must be adequately capitalised and provide much more concessional finance to lower risk and attract more private capital.
The COP28 UAE Presidency has identified “fixing climate finance” as one of four priorities for the climate meeting and enabling the energy transition in emerging markets and developing economies and supporting countries most impacted by climate change.
The IHLEG develops and presents policy options and recommendations to enable the public and private investment necessary for delivery of the ambitions of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Its work builds on the Bridgetown Initiative, which proposes the creation of new instruments and reform of existing institutions to finance climate resilience and June’s Paris Summit for a New Global Financial Pact that aimed to mobilise financial support for developing and low-income countries.
“I look forward to a COP28 that will deliver impact," said Vera Songwe, co-chair of the IHLEG.