Sep 24, 2019
This week, CIF joined leaders from across sectors and around the world in New York for the UN Climate Action Summit, a highly anticipated gathering aimed at rallying nations and shining a light on solutions to the climate crisis. Presided by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Summit presented an opportunity for CIF to join new coalitions and partnerships, and share its ten years of learning and experience in delivering transformational climate finance.
CIF featured prominently in key Summit outcomes. Here is an overview of CIF engagements.
ENERGY TRANSITION
- The UK announced a £200 million contribution to the newly established CIF Global Energy Storage Program, aimed at delivering breakthrough energy storage solutions at scale in developing countries.
- An official side event was held on September 22nd which showcased CIF’s newly established Global Energy Storage Program and commitments from governments, private sector and organizations to scaling up storage solutions worldwide.
- Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are on the frontlines of the climate crisis. This week, CIF joined a new partnership seeking to expand SIDS access to climate finance and support their objective of unlocking fully renewable power grids by 2030, among other aims.
CITIES, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND RESILIENCE
- Home to dense concentrations of people and assets, urban centers are especially vulnerable to climate impacts. In a bid to accelerate and scale up climate finance for cities, CIF became a partner of the Leadership for Urban Climate Investment (LUCI) initiative, a one-stop-shop investment platform for climate-smart urban infrastructure.
- As part of CIF’s engagement with the LUCI initiative, CIF has become a member of the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA) which was launched at the United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Summit in September 2014. It is a coalition of more than 40 organizations actively working to catalyze and accelerate investment into low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure in cities and urban areas.
- CIF joined the new Partnership for a Just Rural Transition (JRT), an effort aligning governments, companies and organizations around a shared vision for sustainable food production investments, land use, forests, natural resources and ecosystems. JRT enhances resilient livelihoods and jobs, rewarding people for their actions to protect the environment;
- The Climate Investment Funds and the Least Developed Countries Universities Consortium on Climate Change (LUCCC) co-led a session on strengthening resilience as part of an event series organized by the Global Resilience partnership. The session centered on building capacity of developing country organizations and governments to advance action on resilience.
CLIMATE WEEK
- Speaking alongside executives and government leaders at Climate Week NYC, CIF Head Mafalda Duarte called for greater financial support to nonstate entities like businesses and local communities as they take steps to reduce emissions and build low-carbon economies.
- In another Climate Week NYC session, Mafalda Duarte reflected on the successes of the UN Climate Action Summit, progress to date in meeting global climate objectives and finance targets, and forecast what further climate actions could materialize in the months and years to come.
