By Ayomide Otitoju
Multilateral development banks (MDBs) on Monday reaffirmed their commitment to climate finance, pledging to scale up innovative funding to strengthen climate adaptation and resilience.
Speaking at a side event organised by the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) on the opening day of the 30th United Nations Climate Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, senior MDB officials emphasized that “financing climate resilience is not a cost, but an investment.” The conference runs from 10 to 21 November.
During the panel discussion “Accelerating Large-Scale Climate Change Adaptation,” representatives from the African Development Bank Group, Inter-American Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank, World Bank Group, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, New Development Bank, and IDB Invest outlined concrete strategies for mobilizing resources to meet Paris Agreement commitments.
Ilan Goldfajn, President of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, announced that MDBs plan to triple their resilience financing over the next decade, targeting $42 billion by 2030. “Resilience is more than a concern for the future: it is essential for development today,” he said.
Tanja Faller, Director of Technical Evaluation and Monitoring at the Council of Europe Development Bank, highlighted the social dimension of climate change, noting that “the most socially vulnerable people are the hardest hit and the last to recover. This is how a climate crisis also becomes a social crisis.”
Kevin Kariuki, Vice President of the African Development Bank Group for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, outlined the Bank’s leadership in climate action. He showcased the Climate Action Window, a new financing mechanism for low-income countries, and the YouthADAPT programme, which has invested $5.4 million in 41 youth-led enterprises across 20 African countries, creating over 10,000 jobs, 61 percent of which are led by women, and mobilizing an additional $7 million in private and donor funding.
Representatives from Zambia, Mozambique, and Jamaica shared perspectives on the financing needs of communities most exposed to climate risks.
The panel followed the official opening of COP30, marked by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s call for increased climate investment to prevent a “tragedy for humanity.” Outgoing COP President Mukhtar Babayev of Azerbaijan urged developed nations to fulfill prior commitments, including mobilizing $300 billion in climate finance, before handing over the COP presidency to Brazilian diplomat André Corrêa do Lago.
