BAKU (Reuters) -The latest round of global climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, has drawn in 60,000 delegates, including many from the worlds of business and finance.
Below is a selection of the deals struck during the event.
MDBs
A group of the world’s leading multilateral development banks, including the World Bank and European Investment Bank, said they collectively plan to increase climate-related lending to poor and middle-income countries to $120 billion a year.
ADB
The Asian Development Bank told Reuters it plans to invest up to an extra $7.2 billion in climate-related projects after the United States and Japan agreed to underwrite some of its existing sovereign loans.
ACUMEN
Non-profit investor Acumen said it plans to invest $300 million over five years to support agricultural adaptation projects in East and West Africa, India, Latin America, and Pakistan.
Acumen belongs to the impact group of sustainable investors, meaning they have to deliver measurable change.
FINANCING ASIA’S TRANSITION PARTNERSHIP
A public-private-philanthropic initiative led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, launched at the COP28 talks in Dubai and targeting $5 billion across several projects, said it had agreed next steps with partners.
Among them, the Industrial Transformation infrastructure debt programme will see it work with the International Finance Corporation, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, AIA Group and BlackRock.
Another, the Green Investments partnership, would see Pentagreen Capital, a joint venture between lender HSBC and Singaporean state investor Temasek, look to invest up to $1 billion in sustainable infrastructure.
CLIMATE INVESTMENT FUNDS
CIF, which offers highly concessional money to climate projects that in turn helps to attract other multilateral and private lenders, listed a bond issuance programme on the London Stock Exchange. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the fund would generate $75 billion over 10 years.
GLACIER ADAPTATION
The Asian Development Bank announced a seven-year $3.5 billion climate adaptation programme aimed at helping communities and businesses adapt to glacial melt in the Southern Caucasus, Central Asia and Pakistan by promoting sustainable water use and food security.
ADB will put up the majority of funding, and, along with a grant from Global Climate Fund which is subject to approval, aims to bring in private sector investors to help the region adapt to the impact of rapidly melting glaciers.
AZERBAIJAN BANKS
The Association of Banks of Azerbaijan said it would commit nearly $1.2 billion to finance projects that help the country’s transition to a low-carbon economy.
(Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Barbara Lewis and Ros Russell)
