81 bln USD mobilized to tackle climate change in 2015: report
Xinhua, August 10, 2016 Adjust font size:
The world's six largest multilateral development banks (MDBs) have mobilized 81 billion U.S. dollars for climate finance in 2015, according to a joint MDB report released by the European Investment Bank (EIB) on Tuesday.
The report said the total included 25 billion dollars of MDB's direct climate finance, combined with a further 56 billion dollars from other investors.
Among the regions, non-EU Europe and Central Asia received the largest share of total funding at 20 percent, with South Asia receiving 19 percent, and so on.
On a sectoral basis, the largest recipient of adaptation funding was for water and wastewater systems (27 percent), followed by energy, transport and related infrastructure (24 percent), and crop and food production (18 percent).
According to the report, MDBs has delivered over 20 billion dollars for mitigation activities and 5 billion dollars for adaptation last year.
Mitigation activities involve the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency measures and the use of clean, renewable energy sources, the EIB explained in a statement.
Adaptation measures reduce climate vulnerability and increase resilience to climate change through, for example, investing in climate-resilient land use and water resource management.
Since 2011, the MDBs have jointly committed more than 131 billion dollars in climate finance.
Last year, the MDBs reinforced their pledges in the run up to the COP21 Paris Agreement, the world's first universal climate accord adopted in December last year by 195 countries. They committed to increase their climate finance in the coming years to cope with the global climate change challenge.
Looking ahead, the report noted that the MDBs will scale up climate finance activities across multiple sectors, in particular in renewable energy and energy efficiency, low-carbon and climate-resilient cities.
"These efforts will help countries meet their commitments under the Paris Agreement, helping them move to a low-carbon, more resilient future," the report said.
The joint report on the latest climate finance figures were prepared by the Asian Development Bank, together with MDB partners. Enditem