Multilateral development banks (MDBs) committed a total sum of $137 billion to global climate finance last year, representing 10% increase year-on- year and underscoring the growing scale of international climate investment.
According to the just published report by the European Investment Bank (EIB) with participation from other MDBs, including the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) titled “2024 Joint Report on Multilateral Development Banks’ Climate Finance”, most of this funding flowed to low- and middle-income economies.
In addition, the MDBs mobilized $134 billion in private finance for climate action in 2024, indicating 33% increase from the year earlier.
Commenting on the MDBs’ improving climate financing, AfDB’s Director for Climate Change and Green Growth, Anthony Nyong, said: “Africa is pushing the pedal on actions that transform Africa’s green potential in energy, nature-based solutions, innovation and a vibrant workforce.
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“And we are putting climate adaptation at the heart of this effort. At the African Development Bank, we are walking the talk, we continuously meet our climate finance annual target and over half of our climate finance goes to helping African countries build resilience, protect livelihoods, and secure a climate-resilience future, while still investing in greener future”, the banker added.
The key report findings showed that in the year under review, low and middle-income economies
received $85.1 billion in MDB climate finance, representing a 14% year-on-year increase and that climate finance in these countries more than doubled over the past five years
Out of the amount, $58.8 billion (69%) targeted climate change mitigation, $26.3 billion (31%) addressed adaptation, while private finance mobilized for climate investments stood at $33 billion
Comparatively, high-income economies got $51.5 billion in MDB climate finance; $46.5 billion (90%) supported climate change mitigation, with $5 billion (10%) addressing adaptation; and private finance mobilized for climate investments reached $101 billion.
The 2024 Multilateral Development Bank Climate Finance Report by the EIB with assistance from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) sourced data from both institutions as well as from the AfDB Group, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Council of Europe Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank Group, the Islamic Development Bank, the New Development Bank and the World Bank Group.
The report was released as MDBs were taking steps to increase the transparency of their climate financing through digitalization initiative that will make their data more accessible and user-friendly.
For instance, expanding climate finance will be a central theme at COP30, which is scheduled to take place in Belém, Brazil in November this year.
It would be recalled that at the COP29 summit held late last year in Baku, countries agreed to scale up support for developing countries to at least $1.3 trillion annually from public and private sources by 2035.
The latest report findings are expected to inform discussions during the COP30 scheduled to hold in in Belém, Brazil in November this year.
