by Fatima Saka
This significant achievement was recently announced in a press release issued by the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) on their website.
According to the MDBs, in 2022, they reached a new record of $60.7 billion in climate finance for low and middle-income economies, marking a remarkable 46 percent increase compared to 2019 volumes. This information is presented in a joint report released by the MDBs.
The report highlights that out of this substantial sum, $38.0 billion, or 63%, was allocated to climate change mitigation finance, while $22.7 billion, or 37%, supported climate change adaptation. Furthermore, the report notes that private finance mobilized by the MDBs amounted to $16.9 billion.
This announcement coincided with a gathering of delegates in Marrakesh, Morocco, for the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings, where discussions regarding the expansion of public climate finance, especially for low and middle-income economies, were a central focus.
In 2022, MDBs allocated $38.8 billion to high-income economies. Notably, $36.3 billion, or 94%, was dedicated to climate change mitigation finance, while $2.5 billion, or 6%, was allocated to climate change adaptation finance. The amount of mobilized private finance for high-income economies reached $51.9 billion.
With the impressive climate finance volumes achieved in 2022, multilateral development banks have surpassed the 2025 climate finance targets they set for themselves at the UN Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit in 2019. These targets include delivering a cumulative $50 billion in climate finance for low-income and middle-income economies, at least $65 billion globally, with an expected doubling in adaptation finance to $18 billion, and private mobilization of $40 billion.
Related Posts
The report reveals that climate finance for low and middle-income countries increased by an impressive 46% to reach $41.5 billion, while global climate finance surged by 62% to reach $61.6 billion.
The African Development Bank’s climate finance investments also demonstrated substantial growth, rising from $2.1 billion in 2020 to $2.4 billion in 2021 and ultimately reaching $3.6 billion in 2022. Importantly, the bank’s allocation primarily supports low-income and middle-income economies.
Anthony Nyong, the Bank Group’s Director for Climate Change and Green Growth Department, emphasized the institution’s commitment to mobilize climate finance on a significant scale to address climate impacts and harness climate opportunities in Africa. Additionally, the report underscores the importance of increased participation from the private sector in climate finance, as external climate funds continue to be a primary source of co-financing.
Transparent joint reporting on climate finance:
The Joint Report on MDBs Climate Finance represents an annual collaborative effort to publish climate finance figures and provide a clear explanation of the methodologies used to track progress regarding their joint climate targets. These targets were announced at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21) and involve greater ambition pledged for the 2021-2025 period.
This year’s report incorporates the climate finance data from the Council of Europe Development Bank and the New Development Bank into the MDB reporting. For the first time, all ten MDBs’ climate finance data is included in the aggregated report. Even without the two MDBs joining the reporting, global climate finance reached $98 billion in 2022. Furthermore, this year’s report offers a more detailed breakdown of MDB climate finance in least-developed countries and small island developing states.
The 2022 multilateral development bank report, coordinated by the European Investment Bank (EIB), combines data from the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Council of Europe Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the EIB, the Inter-American Development Bank Group, the Islamic Development Bank, the New Development Bank, and the World Bank.
