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UN Agencies, Multilateral Development Banks, Private Sector Finance, and Philanthropy Leaders Unite to Scale Climate Finance Capacity Building

December 1, 2023
Environment

New Global Capacity Building Coalition will turbocharge climate finance capacity building and technical assistance for financial institutions in emerging markets and developing economies  seeking support for developing their climate strategies 

Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Coalition brings together leading providers, designers, and funders of capacity building, training, and research for climate mitigation and adaptation, including the UN, World Bank, other MDBs, IMF, ISSB, NGFS, GFANZ, and PRI

Dubai, U.A.E. – Today at COP28, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions Michael R. Bloomberg – alongside senior leaders of multilateral development banks, finance, and international organizations – announced the launch of the Global Capacity Building Coalition. This unprecedented global collaboration will significantly increase the availability and effectiveness of climate finance technical assistance programs for financial institutions in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs). 

António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General said: “The fight against climate chaos depends on cooperation, collaboration, and capital. This welcome initiative brings these vital ingredients together. We must unite around the priorities of developing countries, to get finance where it is needed and power a surge in climate action. The lives and livelihoods of people around the world depend on it.”

Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions said: “This is the broadest coalition ever assembled to increase finance for clean energy and resilience in the Global South. The coalition is well-positioned to help more nations fight climate change in ways that promote economic growth, environmental resilience, and public health — and to do so through collaborative partnerships that empower nations to act boldly.”

Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Coalition will bring together some of the world’s leading climate finance organizations – including an unprecedented group of UN agencies, multilateral development banks (MDBs), standard setters, and the private sector – to enhance collaboration and respond to growing requests for capacity building support from financial institutions in EMDEs to meet the aims of the UN and the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG).

Mary Schapiro, Chair of the Global Capacity Building Coalition, Chair of the Climate Steering Data Committee and Vice-Chair of GFANZ said: “This unprecedented collaboration reflects our commitment to support financial institutions in emerging markets and developing economies and empower them to play a role in their country’s climate mitigation and adaptation. As we navigate the complex landscape of the net-zero transition, the Coalition will respond to their evolving needs and help foster resilience, sustainability, and a net-zero future.”

Chaired by Mary Schapiro, the Coalition marks the first time such a broad group of leading actors in climate finance capacity building have come together to work collaboratively to extend support for EMDEs. Founding participants and observers* of the Coalition include:

  • African Development Bank (AfDB)
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)*
  • Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
  • Bloomberg Philanthropies
  • European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
  • Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero
  • The Global Blended Finance Alliance
  • Green Climate Fund*
  • Finance in Common (FiCS)
  • Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
  • International Monetary Fund*
  • International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)
  • Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS)*
  •  Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)
  •  United Nations Climate High Level Champions  
  • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
  • United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI)
  • United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)*
  • The World Bank Group*

EMDEs will require $2.4 trillion in annual climate finance by 2030 to build resilient, sustainable economies and enable the global transition to net zero. Around half of this finance is expected to come from domestic resource mobilization and so, domestic financial institutions will be critical financiers and intermediaries for providing this capital. 

Yet many financial institutions in EMDEs are earlier on in their climate journey, and the net-zero pathway is often difficult to navigate and resource-intensive. The landscape is evolving quickly as climate risks increase, global public policy evolves, and the need for transition and adaptation finance becomes increasingly acute. Credible transition plans and climate disclosure are vital, and most financial institutions require support to understand and implement emerging best practices, tailored to the risks and opportunities they face. 

The Coalition will respond to this growing demand with a focus on seven specific priorities:

  1. Facilitate the enhanced delivery of capacity building support to financial institutions in EMDEs with upskilling, technical assistance, and transition finance resources.
  2. Identify gaps and develop additional resources required to fill technical or market-specific gaps. Where capacity needs for scaling sustainable finance are not covered by existing tools or resources, recipients will be able to request new resources to address gaps. 
  3. Focus on adaptation and resilience and seek to embed leading knowledge on adaptation into private finance decision making. 
  4. Establish knowledge-sharing mechanisms and create an online platform for training, learning, and requesting technical assistance to accelerate accessibility and delivery.
  5. Support the uptake of emerging global best practices and standards, such as the ISSB’s global sustainability disclosure standards.
  6. Drive collaboration between all stakeholders involved in capacity building and avoid duplication of efforts and resources. 
  7. Increase philanthropic funding to support climate disclosures, transition planning, and adaptation finance in EMDEs.  

Additional supportive quotes:

Woochong Um, Managing Director General of The Asian Development Bank said: “The Asian Development Bank recognizes the importance of a vibrant finance sector to mobilize needed development financing in our developing member countries (DMC). Building capacity of financial institutions in our DMCs is critical to this effort. ADB is pleased to be working with GFANZ and Bloomberg to support these activities in our regions.”

Sir Danny Alexander, Vice President for Policy and Strategy of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said: “The AIIB is delighted to join GFANZ and fellow partners in launching the Capacity Building Coalition at COP28. A truly multi-stakeholder effort bringing together technical and financial resources from philanthropies, multilateral development banks, UN agencies and the private sector, this is the type of innovative partnership that we need more of if we want to stand a chance in our battle against climate change. By taking a demand-driven approach and addressing key gaps such as net-zero target setting, tracking and reporting, sustainable finance frameworks, and adaptation and resilience, the Coalition will play a vital role in accelerating the scaling of transition finance in low- and middle-income countries.”

Katherine Stodulka, Chair of the Blended Finance Taskforce said: “Limited availability of early-stage capital and capacity building tools underpin a significant funding gap for climate action in emerging markets and developing economies. Ensuring climate finance is fit-for-purpose to address these barriers is critical. The Global Capacity Building Coalition will help by providing pragmatic technical assistance to build pipelines and unlock investment, responding to these challenges with demand-driven solutions.”

Jürgen Rigterink, First Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said: “As the backbone of the real economy, the financial sector is critical to tackling the climate emergency we face. Capacity building is a strong enabler for greening the financial system. It provides banks with the skills to improve their internal climate corporate governance, consider climate risks appropriately and boost green lending.”

Adama Mariko, Secretary General of Finance in Common said: “Fostering capacity building, knowledge sharing and technical assistance is critical to better equip Public Development Banks in delivering on their sustainability objectives. Finance in Common (FiCS) is delighted to join forces with GFANZ to scale up sustainable finance, and looks forward to participating with the newly launched Global Capacity Building Coalition.”

Mari Pangestu, Special Envoy to the G20 Bali Global Blended Finance Alliance said: “Many financial institutions in emerging markets and developing economies – like Indonesia’s PT SMI – are raising climate ambition. They are central to financing a just transition and accelerating climate mitigation and adaptation together with public, private and philanthropic partners. The Global Capacity Building Coalition will match this ambition with pragmatic technical assistance and tools to catalyse action and investment.  We look forward to working with them.”

Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF said: “We welcome the creation of the Capacity Building Coalition on Climate Finance. Capacity development is one of the core functions for the IMF, and this important initiative would help to promote best practices in addressing climate change and foster economic sustainability.”

Ilan Goldfajn, President of the Inter American Development Bank (IADB) said: “We support the creation of a Global Capacity Building Coalition on Climate Finance and appreciate the work of Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) in bringing us together. By enhancing the capacity of emerging and developing economies to access, and effectively utilize climate finance, we can accelerate the path towards a more sustainable and resilient future, while also unlocking new opportunities.”

Emmanuel Faber, Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board said: “Around the world, companies are focused on improving their climate-disclosure practices to better communicate risks and opportunities posed by climate. The International Sustainability Standards Board welcomes the establishment of the Global Capacity Building Coalition and we look forward to working with members to provide education, training and capacity building that will support the introduction of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, so that markets have access to much needed climate data.” 

Ravi Menon, Chair of the NGFS and Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore said: “The NGFS is committed to the continual upskilling of the central banking and supervisory community to address the implications of climate change on prudential supervision and financial stability. The NGFS has adopted a collaborative approach on capacity building. I look forward to the NGFS deepening its engagement with key stakeholders of the Global Capacity Building Coalition to streamline the delivery of capacity building and bridge the identified training gaps.”

Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance and Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) Co-Chair said: “Delivering the goals of the Paris Agreement will require financial institutions worldwide to close the data, action and investment gaps by improving their climate disclosure, developing credible transition plans and scaling transition and blended finance. The Global Capacity Building Coalition will be a critical piece of infrastructure to make that happen. GFANZ has developed the frameworks and tools to help implement best practices and scale transition finance, and we look forward to working with the Coalition to support its adoption in emerging markets and developing countries.”

Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate High Level Champion for COP27, Chair of the GFANZ Africa Network, and UN Special Envoy for Financing the SGDs said: “Climate finance for EMDEs needs to rapidly be made more efficient, sufficient, and fair. That requires enhancing the technical assistance and capacity support financial institutions in developing countries receive – including to make it more responsive to demand and needs. The launch of the Global Capacity Building Coalition is an important development to address this, and the GFANZ Africa Network will work closely with the coalition to provide support and solutions for scaling climate finance in Africa.” 

Eric Usher, Head of the United Nations Environment Programme – Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) said: “Capacity is one of the key challenges that many financial institutions in EMDEs face as they are looking to advance their path to net zero. The growing need for climate capacity-building in EMDEs covers a number of areas ranging from emissions data and climate risk management to target setting and transition planning. As a leading convener of climate action in the financial sector, UNEP FI is thrilled to be part of this Coalition that will bring together the resources and expertise of some leading climate finance organisations to enhance collaboration and accelerate capacity-building for financial institutions in EMDEs.”

Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank said: “Banks and financial institutions are the lifeblood of economies. Building their capacity in climate finance, especially in emerging markets, is vital to accelerating the transition. The World Bank is proud to contribute our knowledge and experience to support this important coalition.”

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About Bloomberg Philanthropies:
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works in cities around the world. In 2022, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $1.7 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Media contact: daphne@bloomberg.org 

For more information on the founding participants and observers of the Global Capacity Building Coalition:

UN Agencies:

Multilateral development banks: 

Other International Organizations:

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