Money pledges grabbed the spotlight again at COP28 in Dubai yesterday as delegates turned their focus to the yawning gap between the need for climate finance and what is on offer.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), the host of this year’s conference, pledged US$270 billion in green finance by 2030 through its banks, and several development banks made fresh moves to scale up their funding efforts, including by agreeing to pause debt repayments when disaster strikes.
However, a report released yesterday estimated that emerging markets and developing countries would need US$2.4 trillion per year in investment to cap emissions and adapt to the challenges posed by climate change.
Photo: AP
“The world is not on track to realize the goals of the Paris Agreement. The reason for this failure is a lack of investment, particularly in emerging market and developing countries outside China,” said report coauthor Nicholas Stern, chairman of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
“The central challenge is to accelerate and implement the fostering and financing of this investment from a range of sources,” he added.
Vulnerable countries that are already being hit by costly climate disasters are asking for billions of dollars more through a newly formed disaster fund, although current pledges only total about US$700 million.
The biggest pledge yesterday came from the UAE’s banking system, joining peers in other regions in pledging to lend more to green projects. It followed a pledge on Friday of US$30 billion for climate-related projects from the Gulf state.
Elsewhere, France and Japan said they would support a move by the African Development Bank to leverage IMF Special Drawing Rights for climate and development.
Meanwhile, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said it would include climate resilient debt clauses in new loan deals with some poorer countries.
Danish investment firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners announced plans to raise US$3 billion for renewable projects in emerging markets.
Meanwhile, the emirate of Abu Dhabi teamed up with private-sector partners including BlackRock Inc and HSBC Holdings PLC to launch a climate research and advisory hub to boost financing options in the region.
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