Dive Brief:
- Amid international climate talks on how to stop global warming, the world's six largest development banks have pledged to consider global warming implications in their strategies, programs, and operations going forward, PV Magazine reports.
- The banks, including the World Bank Group, released a joint statement released at the COP21 climate talks in Paris announcing plans to use public and private finance to help countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions and take up to the climate change fight.
- President Obama spoke at the climate talks with a sense of optimism, vowing to commit the United States' resources to to combating climate change while pointing to the shared sense of urgency as the turning point for the environment.
Dive Insight:
One focus of international climate talks has been the way strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions may impact developing nations: countries which are just beginning to grow and will need energy, but have yet to significantly contribute to the planet's crisis. Six banks this week have pledged not just financial support but a change in strategy to support countries growth while simultaneously working to combat global warming.
“Africa has already been short-changed by climate change. Now, we must ensure that Africa is not short-changed in terms of climate finance. The African Development Bank stands fully ready to support greater climate financing for Africa," said Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, in a statement.
The banks “pledge to increase our climate finance and to support the outcomes of the Paris conference through 2020,” according to their statement. “Each of our organizations has set goals for increasing its climate finance and for leveraging finance from other sources. These pledges support the US$100 billion a year commitment by 2020 for climate action in developing countries.”
“Climate finance is critical to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts," said Takehiko Nakao, President of the Asian Development Bank. "However, finance alone is not enough. It is imperative that we combine increased finance with smarter technology, stronger partnerships and deeper knowledge."
President Obama spoke at the COP21 conference, stressing the global nature of the issue.
"And what should give us hope that this is a turning point, that this is the moment we finally determined we would save our planet, is the fact that our nations share a sense of urgency about this challenge and a growing realization that it is within our power to do something about it," he said.
