UN, WB Introduce New Platform to Finance Climate Action

The United Nations (UN) and the World Bank Group plan to accelerate the flow of finance for climate action through a new platform dedicated to identifying and facilitating transformational investments in developing countries, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said.

The platform, named Invest4Climate, will bring together investors with high-impact opportunities in developing countries such as large-scale development of battery storage, electric cars, and low emission air conditioning.

It will also facilitate such investments through the development of risk mitigation instruments and, based on demand, will work with national governments to improve policy environments.

Kim said at a press conference during the Bloomberg Global Business Forum that “there are vast opportunities in developing countries in areas like clean energy and climate-smart agriculture that will lay the groundwork for a more prosperous and sustainable future.”

“Our challenge is to create the conditions for investment to flow, and to get all forms of finance working together for maximum impact,” he added.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that countries are successfully reducing emissions and building resilience to climate change.

But getting to the level of action needed to reach the global goals set in Paris two years ago will require a huge leap in the flow of financing and investment for implementing the National Determined Contributions, he said.

“Cities are leading the way in confronting climate change, and they would be doing even more, even faster, if they had greater access to funding,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, at the same press conference.

The first Invest4Climate initiatives are expected to be announced at the Climate Summit in Paris in December 2017. (Xinhua)