MDB Climate Financing Totals $81 Billion In 2015

A total of $81 billion in climate financing was mobilised for projects being funded by the world’s six largest multilateral development banks, according to a new report.

According to the new report, the 2015 Joint Report on Multilateral Development Banks’ Climate Finance, the total $81 billion dedicated to financing climate change mitigation and adaptation projects and activities included $25 billion from multilateral development banks (MDB) direct climate finance, as well as a further $56 billion from other investors. The MDBs figure was made up of $20 million for mitigation finance, and another $5 million for adaptation financing.

Since 2011, the six major MDBs have financed more than $131 billion in climate action in developing and emerging economies.

The report was prepared by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) together with MDB partners: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDBG), and the World Bank Group (WBG).

Non-EU Europe and Central Asia received the largest share of total funding with 20%, followed by South Asia with 19%, Latin America and the Caribbean with 15%, East Asia and the Pacific with 14%. New member states in the European Union received 13%, Sub-Saharan Africa received 9%, and the Middle East and North Africa received 9%.

Looking at the sectors to which funding was sent, the largest recipient of adaptation funding was for water and wastewater systems, which received 27% of the total — followed by energy, transport, and related infrastructure with 24%, and crop and food production with 18%. Mitigation financing went first to renewable energy with 30%, followed by lower-carbon transport with 26% and energy efficiency activities with 14%.