African Agriculture @ UNGA 73 and Global Goals Week (0)

25 September 2018. New York. The OECD, UN Environment and the World Bank Group hosted a high-level discussion on Financing Climate Futures.

 Scaling-up and shifting financial flows to low-emission and resilient infrastructure investments is critical to delivering on the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Despite some progress, radical transformations are needed to drive systemic changes in finance, infrastructure and innovation.

This initiative, supported by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), stems from the 2017 G20 Hamburg Climate and Energy Action Plan, which called on the three organisations to “compile ongoing public and private activities within the G20 for making financial flows consistent with the Paris goals and, building on this, to analyse potential opportunities for strengthening these efforts”.

The initiative explores what public and private actors should do to trigger the radical transformation needed to align financial flows in infrastructure for a low-emission, resilient development.

Agenda and list of speakers 

• H.E. Dr. Gemedo Dalle, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change, Ethiopia (invited) 
• H.E. Ambassador Luke Daunivalu, Chief Negotiator COP23 Presidency, Fiji 
• Ms. Naomi Tokashiki, State Minister for the Environment, Japan 
• Mr. Michał Kurtyka, Vice-Minister of Environment, COP24 President, Poland 
• Mr. Erik Solheim, Executive Director, UN Environment UNEP
• Ms Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC 
• Ms. Laura Tuck, Vice-President for Sustainable Development, World Bank Group

Financing Climate Futures: Synthesis and Key Messages
See also: key messages flyer(PDF)
In addition to this synthesis, the Financing Climate Futures initiatve consists of the following components:

• OECD case study - Key findings: Financing climate objectives in cities and regions to deliver sustainable and inclusive growth
• More case studies (forthcoming)

This synthesis report identifies six transformative areas that have the potential to help the different financial actors move beyond an incremental approach to the low-carbon transition towards the transformational agenda needed for decisive action. In addition to this synthesis, the Financing Climate Futures initiative consists of the following components:

1. Shifting the Lens, a UN Environment analysis that explores the benefit of scenarios and foresight approaches in supporting the lowemission, resilient transition 

2. A series of case studies that dive deeper in specific aspects of these recommendations: 

• Specific jurisdictions: Financing climate objectives in cities and regions to deliver sustainable and inclusive growth (OECD); Financing Resilient Urban Infrastructure: Lessons from World Bank and Global Experience (World Bank Group); Greening the Belt and Road Initiative (UN Environment) 
• Technologies: Blockchain, infrastructure and the low-emission transition (OECD); Decarbonising energy intensive industries: options and strategies (Imperial College); How digital finance favours infrastructure investments, decarbonisation and energy access to all (UN Environment) 
• Development finance: Mobilising commercial capital for sustainable infrastructure: Insights from national development banks in Brazil and South Africa (OECD); Achieving Clean Energy Access in Sub-Saharan Africa (Jan-Corfee Morlot & Carbon Limits Nigeria)

The final report, which will be launched at COP24 in Poland in December 2018

Extract:
National development banks (NDBs) from major emerging economies such as Brazil (BNDES), China (the China Development Bank), South Africa (DBSA) and Turkey (TSKB) are increasingly featured in international discussions on infrastructure and climate change. 

• Many of these banks are part of the International Development Finance Club (IDFC), a global network of 23 development banks and finance institutions based in OECD and non-OECD countries. 
• In addition to emerging economy NDBs it includes bilateral development banks like KfW, AFD and JICA; and subregional development banks like the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF). 
• Together, IDFC members committed USD 173 billion in ‘green’ finance in 2016 (IDFC, 2017). 
• The major share of this finance stemmed from institutions based in non-OECD countries.
• USD 7 billion was committed by IDFC members based outside the OECD for other developing countries, highlighting the growing role emerging economy banks are beginning to play in international environment-related development finance.