We have high hopes and high expectations for climate finance in 2021. Here's why.
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This year starts with high hopes. Hopes for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hopes for a green recovery that leaves no-one behind. Hopes that the world will get on track to win the race to zero emissions. 2020 ended with growing ambition for carbon neutrality, and 2021 will be a decisive year to transform this momentum into action—from the United States re-joining the Paris Agreement to the first United Nations High-Level Dialogue on Energy in 40 years, and the long-awaited COP26.
The situation also demands high expectations. For the first time since records began, human development has fallen. We are not on track to meet our climate goals, and we now have less than 10 years before permanent damage is done to our planet and ourselves—with the most vulnerable hit the hardest.
In face of this, it is urgent to channel, accelerate and expand finance for the solutions that will enable countries to tackle the climate crisis and build forward better, and 2021 will be a crucial year to do so.
How can the Climate Investment Platform (CIP) contribute to this collective effort? Read our latest blog by UNDP's CIP Global Lead and Principal Advisor for SIDS Riad Meddeb.
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⚡ 2021: Super Year for Sustainable Energy⚡
In September 2021, for the first time in 40 years, the United Nations will host a High Level Dialogue on Energy. Organized by UN-Energy, which is co-chaired by CIP partners UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner and SEforALL CEO Damilola Ogunbiyi, this event will be instrumental for countries, businesses, civil society and international institutions to step up action on sustainable energy. 17 Members States have already been announced as United Nations Global Champions to spearhead advocacy and inspire action across five key themes. The Dominican Republic, the Netherlands and Pakistan are the Champions for Finance and investment. Find the full list here.
Climate Investment Platform partners are actively involved in preparations for the summit. We welcome the Global Champions, and look forward to working closely together to raise ambition for sustainable energy!
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TOP PICKS: CLIMATE FINANCE INSIGHTS
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It's been a big month for climate adaptation.
Our climate is changing, and we need change with it. Three key events have helped put adaptation at the forefront of the global policy agenda.
🌱 2021 kicked-off with the One Planet Summit, where global leaders took a series of concrete actions for nature. New commitments stepped up action for Africa's Great Green Wall, including budgeting $14.3 billion over the next five years through the Great Green Wall Accelerator programme. CIP partner the Green Climate Fund will develop, with the International Fund for Agricultural Development, a pipeline of projects that aim to leverage up to $1 billion in multi-partner resources under the Great Green Wall Umbrella Programme. Find out more here.
🌱 UNEP's Adaptation Gap report found that while nations have advanced in planning, huge gaps remain in finance for developing countries and bringing adaptation projects to the stage where they bring real protection against climate impacts such as droughts, floods and sea-level rise. Public and private finance for adaptation must be stepped up urgently, along with faster implementation. Key findings and full report here.
🌱 The Climate Adaptation Summit highlighted efforts to enhance resilience and build locally led climate actions. UNDP launched the Adaptation Innovation Marketplace (AIM) – a platform to scale up adaptation at the local level, focusing on civil society, NGOs, and women and youth innovators. The European Union and UNDP also announced a two-year project in partnership with the Africa Adaptation Initiative and African Union Commission to address urgent adaptation financing gaps in Africa.
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IRENA launches the Global High-Level Forum on Energy Transition.
At the conclusion of IRENA’s Eleventh Assembly meeting in Abu Dhabi, the Agency’s 180-strong membership overwhelmingly approved the establishment of a new, vision-building Global High-Level Forum on Energy Transition. With an aim to maintain the political momentum for green recovery in 2021, the new Forum intends to accelerate energy transition action from countries, industry, business, investors, academia and visionaries. Click here for more information and to catch up on what took place during the IRENA Assembly.
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Can digital finance be a winning approach for climate?
The UN Task Force on Digital Financing of the SDGs found that digital financing can make it easier to:
- Raise investment funds for green projects and performance.
- Factor climate risks into investment decisions.
- Scale carbon markets.
- Launch renewable energy financing platforms.
- Scale automated index-based insurance.
To seize this opportunity, initiatives like the World Bank’s Climate Warehouse Project are mobilizing blockchain to create a global registry for emissions reduction ‘mitigation outcomes’ under the Paris Agreement Article VI such as carbon credits; and the UNFCCC Climate Chain Coalition is advancing blockchain and related digital solutions to help mobilize climate finance. While still nascent, these initiatives have great potential to spur the climate finance flows developing countries depend on for the low-carbon, climate-resilient economic transformation. Find here the UN's full report on Digital Financing and the SDGs.
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Can solar power help Sudan build back better?
Sudan's solar energy programme can be key to drive a green recovery. As part of the Climate Investment Platform, UNDP is working with partners to facilitate investment in the country's ambitious solar programme. This builds on an existing successful pilot initiative to support farmers with solar-powered water pumps, which has enabled crop diversification and increased land use and productivity by nearly 50%. Find out more here.
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Register now for the SEforALL Youth Summit!
Organised by youth and for youth on 9-11 February, the Summit will empower young energy leaders to support faster SDG7 progress. The event outcomes will feed into key moments SEforALL is leading to drive bolder, more ambitious action towards universal energy access, including the UN High-Level Dialogue on Energy in September 2021 and COP26 in December 2021. Find out more and register here.
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Join the IEA Clean Energy transitions summit 2021.
Following the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) inaugural Clean Energy Transitions Summit in 2020, this year’s edition will take place on 31 March and be jointly hosted by the IEA and the UK government. The Summit will be a critical opportunity to take stock of the growing list of commitments from countries and companies to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, and to focus on the implementation actions necessary to start turning the growing number of net-zero goals into reality. Find out more here.
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The CIP works with country governments, financial institutions, and other key stakeholders to facilitate, accelerate, and step up climate investments. It delivers support to countries along four tracks:
- Assistance to submit enhanced targets in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs);
- Policies and regulations;
- Financial de-risking;
- Project match-making.
The CIP’s founding vision is to have a coordinated approach among partners for soliciting, reviewing, selecting, and supporting developing countries to prepare attractive proposals for climate donors and financiers public and private.
At the core of this vision lies the fact that climate investments in developing countries are key to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As current climate finance flows are heavily skewed towards mitigation in general, particularly energy, the CIP has focused first on facilitating clean energy investments. However, in seeking to fill gaps and identify new niches, the Climate Investment Platform aims to support both mitigation and adaptation measures, and its remit also covers investments in climate adaptation and resilience.
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