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Last month, Mafalda engaged in a series of talks in Italy to showcase and highlight CIF’s work at the LUISS Guido Carli University, the Instituto Affari Internazionali, and with the San Giorgio Group in Venice. Speaking to state officials, future climate leaders, and climate finance experts, she discussed the importance of just transitions in climate finance and the necessity of inclusive development in climate projects. During the Istituto Affari Internazionali public engagement session, Italy’s Deputy Director at the Ministry of Economy and Finance confirmed that it was committing €150 million to the Nature, People, and Climate program.
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CIF hosted the session ‘Mobilizing funds from capital markets to tackle climate challenge in MENA’ during the Middle East and Northern Africa Climate Week 2022 Summit. The session focused on exploring existing experience and opportunities for MENA countries in accessing capital markets for their green/climate investments. CIF’s Clean Technology Fund (CTF) has financed and continues to provide more than $930 million in concessional funding to further develop CSP and renewable energy capacity in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, and Libya.
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CIF celebrated International Women’s Day with a 3-week gender campaign highlighting the role climate finance is playing in recognizing women’s specific needs, empowering their potential as agents of change, and achieving gender parity in climate-smart development. The campaign focused on CIF’s commitment to a more comprehensive and systemic approach to women climate leadership in new programs, sharing its work and objectives across all social media platforms. Top climate leaders and stakeholders were featured on Twitter speaking of the importance for an inclusive approach to low carbon and climate resilient development. And numerous videos and articles explored successful gender projects that prioritized a gender-equal power balance.
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The deforestation in Ghana is among the highest in the world, driven by agriculture, mining and forestry, as well as poverty, food insecurity and rising inequality. A new CIF study outlines how socially inclusive Just Transitions in sustainable land use projects need to be present to protect and mitigate the potential negative effects of change on vulnerable communities that depend on today’s natural resource economies.
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CIF recently published three studies on CIF-supported hydrological and meteorological (“hydromet”) and climate projects highlighting how timely hydromet and climate services (HMCS) are critical for ensuring effective climate risk management and long-term adaptation. All three studies reflect CIF's commitment to its membership in the Alliance for Hydromet Development, whose aim is to improve the effectiveness of hydromet investments in developing countries. HMCS are vital for sustaining the economies of developing countries with a high level of dependence on natural resources for the livelihoods of its people.
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The Climate Investment Funds session ‘Mobilizing funds from capital markets to tackle climate challenge in MENA’ at the Middle East and Northern Africa Climate Week 2022 Summit in late March was a huge success. Key takeaways included that plenty of ESG focused capital is looking for green/sustainable projects in emerging markets; investors see huge potential in moving from the use of green bonds) to KPI-linked bonds that are tied with performance of reforms/national policies; and sovereign green bonds are worth the investment despite significant upfront expenditure in upskilling across various ministers because it sends strong signals to the investment community and mobilizes investment beyond sovereigns to other corporate investments, which could, in turn, inform and facilitate broad reform agenda.
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Mafalda spoke at the FT Climate Capital stage event in London in early March to discuss scaling up green infrastructure and looking ahead to COP27. Her lecture focused on the responsibility and best practices that developed economies need to adapt when committing capital to scale up, update and digitalize green infrastructure in developing countries. On the panel looking ahead to COP27, she talked about how supporting developing countries in their transition to net-zero through climate finance is a top priority to help achieve Paris Agreement objectives.
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P A S T E V E N T
Mafalda Speaking Engagements in Italy
At the end of March, Mafalda flew out to Italy and engaged in a series of talks focused on CIF’s work in climate finance. In Venice, she spoke at an international meeting that convened both high-level climate finance and climate action experts where she highlighted the importance of a just and resilient transition to net-zero. At the highly participatory Istituto Affari Internazionali event, she discussed how the current climate crisis, COVID, and Ukraine were widening inequality for vulnerable groups at a global level. And at the LUISS Guido Carli university, one of Italy's premier foreign affairs schools, she was a guest lecturer and spoke about the role of multilateral development banks utilizing climate finance for a just transition to net-zero.
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P A S T E V E N T
Youth Climate Summit Ghana 2022
Mafalda and Dora N. Cudjoe, CIF Senior Operations Officer, recently participated the Young Professionals and Youth Coalition (YPYC) virtual Youth Climate Summit 2022 held in Ghana. The summit sought to build knowledge and capacity of students, young Ghanaian leaders, and youth on climate change advocacy and solutions. Mafalda, a featured speaker at the summit, has long been an advocate of youth climate leaders, recognizing that their unique perspectives can positively affect political activism, policy change and local climate resilience initiatives.
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