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MDBs, business and governments: financing clean energy
Taking concrete actions to deliver on climate change
More than 200 representatives from leading public sector institutions and
global private sector businesses gathered in London to identify practical ways
to finance clean energy and address global climate change.
"Financing clean energy: a framework for public-private partnership to tackle
climate change" was co-organised by the EBRD, World Bank, World Economic Forum
and World Business Council for Sustainable Development. It brought together
global business leaders including energy companies, utilities, industry and
financial institutions, government representatives. UK Chancellor Gordon
Brown, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz and the heads of regional
development banks addressed the conference and heard from business and
industry leaders about practical ways to encourage the private sector to
invest in a lower carbon economy, including through energy efficiency and
renewable energy.
Paul Wolfowitz, President, World Bank Group, said poor countries are right to
argue they should not have to pay the price for fossil fuel dependent growth
in the rich countries. “Rich countries need to lead by example. Today, OECD
countries are moving forward with plans to renovate and replace virtually
their entire power plant infrastructure. The decisions made in capitals across
Europe and North America today will affect generations to come – so it is
essential that they make the right choices and invest in clean technology and
move towards low carbon strategies,” said Mr Wolfowitz. “Rich countries will
also need to lead with direct support to developing nations. We need to reduce
poverty and reduce emissions.”
Jean Lemierre, President of the EBRD and host of the conference, said the
debate on climate change is well known, but international organisations now
have a role in working more effectively with the private sector around the
world in reducing carbon use. He said the main purpose of the conference was
to hear from corporate and banking leaders what obstacles are preventing them
from financing sustainable energy and how governments and MDBs can help reduce
such obstacles.
Gordon Brown, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: “Today I call on the
Presidents of the MDBs to jointly set out a level of ambition for the scale of
investment which can be mobilised through their Frameworks. We have a major
challenge in front of us. We need to identify the scale of the response which
we intend to make, and bring the private sector – not just foreign investment,
but domestic capital in developing countries - firmly into the Investment
Framework discussions.”
Lars G. Josefsson, President and CEO, Vattenfall AB, said the wise handling of
this challenge required global cooperation on many fronts, and no region,
country or sector could handle this challenge alone. “Today business leaders
in general have an open attitude towards taking action. We need the support of
the global community to shape a stable framework, which creates incentives for
commercial solutions, technological development and market-based investments,”
said Mr Josefsson.
Building on the growing consensus that determined action is necessary to
address climate change concerns, day-two of the conference was designed to
identify specific measures to significantly increase financing to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
Working groups with senior staff from private sector companies and the various
institutions attending the conference will discuss specific issues and
opportunities for enhancing private sector financing in the following areas:
energy production, renewable energy, energy efficiency, climate change
adaptation, and new financing instruments. While the Multilateral Development
Banks will explain their initiatives, the key objective of these working
groups will be to identify a specific set of actions to increase private
sector participation in each of these areas in cooperation with MDBs, and to
be undertaken as quickly as possible. A final plenary will define the way
forward and specific actions for follow-up. The outcomes of these working
groups will be presented at the international Gleneagles Dialogue on climate
change at the September meeting under Germany’s G-8 presidency, ahead of the
World Bank’s annual meetings.
Press contacts:
World Bank
Kristyn Schrader
Email:
kschrader@worldbank.org
Tel: +1 202 468 6826
World Economic Forum
Mark Adams
mark.adams@weforum.org
Tel:
+41 (0) 22 869 1210
WBCSD
Lloyd Timberlake
E-mail: timberlake@wbcsd.org
Tel:
+41 (22) 839 3100
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