Today, the COP 28 presidency and partners announced a series of new initiatives worth 6.3 billion UAE dirhams ($1.7 billion).
The COP28 Presidency and Brazilian President Lula da Silva also announced a two-year partnership to collect and stimulate new resources and support for nature conservation in preparation for “COP 30”, which is scheduled to be held in the Brazilian city of Belém.
Additional funding for developing countries was also announced today as part of the finance day theme during the fifth day of COP28, including the launch of the “Ghana Climate Resilience Plan,” which will collect an additional $50 million in support from Canada, Singapore, the United States, and other private sector initiatives, in addition to $30 million from the UAE.
Moreover, Charity group institutions, including Bloomberg Philanthropies, Builders Vision, and Oceankind, announced new funding worth $250 million for the Ocean Resilience Alliance (ORCA), which aims to protect vulnerable marine areas and efforts to mitigate the repercussions of climate change on the oceans, and research related to climate impacts.
The UAE Banks Federation, which represents 56 lenders in the Emirates, has pledged to mobilise Dh1 trillion ($272 billion) in sustainable financing during the COP28 finance day.
According to Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, chairman of the UAE Banks Federation, the mega commitment is aimed at fulfilling the UAE’s ambitions to reach its goal of net-zero by 2050.
“Cop28 has provided the UAE Banks Federation a remarkable platform, empowering us to unite and deliver on a sustainable finance objective,” he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron also announced three forest financing packages, including $100 million for Papua New Guinea, $60 million for the Democratic Republic of Congo, and $50 million for the Republic of the Congo to stimulate private financing for environmental conservation and local development.
From their side, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre also announced a $100 million partnership to support the realisation of Indonesia’s FOLU Net Sink plan that aims to reduce carbon emissions in forest areas and other lands by 2030.
Collectively, Saudi Arabia, France, the Asian Development Bank, the OPEC Fund for International Development, the French Development Agency, and the ASEAN Green Finance Catalyst Facility at the Green Climate Fund announced the launch of the Nature Finance Center, a new initiative that commits to raising $1 billion from development partners, and mobilising 2 $1 billion in additional private financing by 2030 for nature-focused climate action projects.