Dr Sultan Al Jaber tells banks 'trillions, not billions', needed for climate finance

Cop28 President-designate underlines need for financial institutions to help fund efforts to tackle the effects of climate change

Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Cop28 President-designate, speaks during this week's pre-Cop28 event in Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Cop 28 President-designate, has urged global banking leaders to invest in the fight against climate change, warning that “trillions, not billions”, are needed to protect the planet.

Dr Al Jaber called for ambitions on climate finance and adaptation to be raised in a virtual meeting with the presidents of nine multilateral development banks (MBDs) and the managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

He said MBDS – financial institutions set up by countries to support developing nations – would have a key role to play in funding solutions to pressing issues such as food and water security and preserving biodiversity.

“Addressing climate finance is a cornerstone of the Cop28 Action Agenda,” said Dr Al Jaber, also the UAE's Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology.

He said MBDs had made “good progress” but now was the time to show “more ambition”.

Massive investment required

“We need trillions, not billions. We are pushing shareholders to adequately recapitalise MDBs, but we also need MDBs to do better,” Dr Al Jaber said.

He set out an action plan for bank bosses as Cop28 fast approaches.

“I have three asks for you, MDBs must work through country platforms, revise climate finance targets for coming years, and lower the risk for the private sector.

“MDBs must play a key role in laying the foundations for a new framework on climate finance.”

He called for banks to shift from individual projects to embrace big-picture thinking to address eco concerns on a larger scale.

He called on banks to come to the climate talks, which run from November 30 to December 12 at Expo City Dubai, with a plan to work together to deliver tangible action.

“For this new vision to become reality, we need MDBs to work better together as a system, particularly via country platforms,” he said.

“I now ask you to come to Cop with a strong joint announcement on country platforms and demonstrate the commitment to working together.”

Dr Al Jaber also asked the bank heads to come to Cop28 with “revised, more ambitious joint-climate finance targets for the coming years, particularly for adaptation ─ reflecting the ambition required.”

“There is a critical need for MDBs to increase their adaptation finance ─ and scale up climate finance to cover sectors such as food, water, health, nature and biodiversity,” he said.

“MDBs must also step up on private finance mobilisation ─ with targets and methodologies to mobilise private finance, particularly for mitigation.”

The IMF will also “have a crucial role in the delivery of climate finance,” Dr Al Jaber said.

He called for a forum to be established to next year to assess progress made on the MBD reform agenda.

“In business, I have learnt that measuring progress is essential to making progress,” he said.

“Today, you have demonstrated that together ─ through joint MDB action ─ we can lay the foundation of a climate finance architecture that is more fit-for-purpose to address climate and development.”

The meeting was attended by Ajay Banga, World Bank president; Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF, as well as Dilma Rousseff, president of the New Development Bank and former president of Brazil.

Other attendees included the presidents of the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.