Bank is chairing four events at Bonn climate conference: “green” fiscal risks, climate resilience, Green Cities Framework and technology transfer
The EBRD heads for international climate talks in Bonn next week, determined to demonstrate its commitment to meeting ambitious goals to address the global challenge of climate change.
At the COP23 climate conference in Bonn, Germany, the EBRD will be able to report on the progress it has made in delivering its climate finance objectives set in the run-up to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
It will also hold a series of technical sessions, outlining practical approaches based on its broad range of projects in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The EBRD is a major investor in climate finance in many of the 38 emerging economies where it works, a driving force in energy efficiency projects, a pioneer in the development of renewable energy sources and an increasingly important player in adaptation to climate change.
Josué Tanaka, EBRD Managing Director, Energy Efficiency and Climate Change, outlined the urgency of achieving the climate action objectives developed by the EBRD and other multilateral development banks in the context of the COP21 Paris meeting. “We are taking decisive steps to ensure we meet these objectives,” he said.
Under its Green Economy Transition (GET) approach, the EBRD aims to dedicate 40 per cent of its annual investment to green finance by 2020 and is well on the way to achieving this objective.
Mr Tanaka added that in addition to the EBRD’s focus on energy efficiency, renewables and green cities, the Bank was now putting an additional focus on climate adaptation.
This year’s talks will be chaired by Fiji, he noted, a country particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change.
The COP23 will bring together over 25,000 environment and climate change specialists, including representatives from governments, observer organisations, multilateral development banks such as the EBRD, and business delegates and media.
In Bonn, the EBRD sessions will focus on a number of key climate issues:
- Achieving the Paris Agreement through a Green Economy Transition: Fiscal risks and opportunities
- EBRD Green Cities Framework: Accelerating financing for urban action on climate change
- From early movers to critical mass: How to build a market for climate technologies
- Measuring climate resilience: Emerging work of financial institutions on metrics for climate resilience and adaptation
Bank representatives will also take part in several events focused on driving climate action on finance, research and innovation and legal and institutional developments that support the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the Nationally Determined Contributions.
Since 2006, the EBRD has invested over €24 billion in around 1,400 projects leading to reductions in CO2 emission of 87 million tonnes per year.