DOCSLIB.ORG

Financing Climate Change Action

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Financing Climate Change Action Financing Climate Change Action POLICY PERSPECTIVES OECD . 1 “In the interest of the next generation, we simply cannot afford to put climate change on the back burner… unlike the financial crisis, we do not have a ‘climate bailout option’ up our sleeves.” Angel Gurría, OECD Secretary-General November 2014 2 . FINANCING CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION POLICY PERSPECTIVES FINANCING Climate Change Action Successfully tackling climate change developing countries is a priority. This requires urgent policy action across will require strengthened measurement, countries to scale-up and shift public reporting and verification (MRV) systems and private sector investments to raise accountability and transparency, towards low-carbon, climate-resilient and improved country systems to use infrastructure. An integrated framework climate finance effectively. The OECD with clear and stable climate policies, is assisting countries in their domestic sound investment policies and targeted and international efforts to mobilise and financial tools and instruments is track climate finance to ensure a smooth essential to overcome barriers to private transition to a low-carbon, climate- sector investments and address market resilient economy and greener growth. failures. Scaling up climate finance to Key challenges: 1. Scale up climate finance 3. Ensure adequate financing flows and shift investment for adaptation to support green growth 4. Track climate finance 2. Strengthen domestic policy flows to and in developing frameworks in support of countries to build trust low-carbon and climate- through transparency and resilient infrastructure accountability investment OECD . 3 Scale up climate finance flows and shift investment 1 to support green growth Mobilise and shift public and private sources of investment Because infrastructure has long made now from carbon-intensive to large-scale private sector engagement. operational life, infrastructure low-carbon infrastructure, and do this Limited public financing should be used investment decisions must be placed at scale. as a time-bound catalyst to leverage at the centre of efforts to tackle climate private investments and to target cost- change. Choices made today about Irrespective of climate change, effective activities unlikely to attract types, features and location of new and investment in infrastructure in the sufficient private funding on their own, renovated infrastructure will lock in coming years needs to be scaled up such as capacity building, education future levels of emissions and determine significantly to support the broader and training, and technology research the extent and impact of climate change. economic growth and development and development. For example, solar and wind power agenda. In OECD countries, many facilities, smart grids, demand-side infrastructure networks for water, management, floodplain levees and electricity and transport are in need coastal protection, road-side drainage of replacement and upgrading. In designed for increased precipitation, and developing countries, partly due to retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency rapid urbanisation, a major part of the help to mitigate or adapt to climate infrastructure stock required to meet change, or to do both. Such investments development goals is yet to be built. in low-carbon, climate-resilient (LCR) infrastructure that are compatible with In the face of growing infrastructure meeting the 2-degree Celsius climate needs and fiscal constraints, such change goal may come at an extra cost, transformational change will require but this increment is just a fraction of large-scale private investments. The the finance needed for infrastructure domestic public sector plays and will overall, and costs will be offset to a continue to play the leading role to significant extent by fuel savings and guide and “jump start” investment health benefits. Such investments could when needed. Public engagement also help governments avoid large costs should aim to address key market of inaction in the long term (OECD, failures and externalities as well as 2012a). There is an opportunity – and delivery of public goods, e.g. investment urgency – to build more of the right type in power grids to enable growth in of infrastructure. To do this, we need to new renewable energy sources. But find ways to shift the investments being achieving LCR development will require Barriers to private investment in green infrastructure Domestic and international private investment in green infrastructure is still seriously constrained by market failures and specific investment barriers. Barriers to private investments in infrastructure projects include high upfront capital costs and unattractive risk-return profiles. Country-specific risks may also limit the attractiveness of such investments. In addition to traditional infrastructure challenges, green infrastructure projects have to deal with specific barriers that limit engagement of the investment community. This includes a weak or partial environmental policy backdrop that fails to sufficiently price pollution, renders clean infrastructure projects less competitive than polluting projects, introduces regulatory risk, and raises uncertainty for private investors, e.g. sudden or retroactive change to support systems along with a lack of certainty on climate policies. Other barriers to investment include a lack of investor familiarity and expertise with green infrastructure projects, and limited information on project risks and returns. Finally, appropriately-structured financing instruments such as green bonds and funds need to be developed to provide the risk-adjusted return profile that private investors expect. OECD work also shows that international investment in green energy is impeded by rising international trade and investment restrictions, e.g. through the use of local content requirements in solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind energy (OECD, 2015 forthcoming). 4 . FINANCING CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION POLICY PERSPECTIVES Scale-up climate finance flows to developing countries In an important step forward to scaling Recent OECD analysis shows that both up financing for climate change action, bilateral and multilateral external the Cancún Agreements called on development finance has a positive and developed countries to provide new significant effect in mobilising private and additional resources for developing finance flows to developing countries, countries: with a higher effect on domestic than on international flows. These results • USD 30 billion “fast start financing” are robust across different models over 2010-12. and estimation approaches. The analysis suggests that the effect of • A longer-term goal of USD 100 multilateral public finance is greater billion per year by 2020 to come on the decision whether to invest at all from public and private sources. than on the volume of investment once the decision to invest is taken (Hašcic North-South finance flows for et al., 2014). It also shows that raising mitigation still represent a fraction of the ambition of domestic policies in the total finance flows in the emitting developing countries to incentivise sectors. In the 2009-10 period, aggregate renewable energy investment, such as North-South flows for mitigation and through feed-in tariffs and renewable adaptation are estimated in the range energy quotas, will be vital to attracting of USD 70 to 120 billion annually private investment at scale to achieve (Clapp et al., 2012). This is mainly low-carbon goals. from private sources (i.e. foreign direct External official development finance investment (FDI), other private flows operates on at least two levels to and investment, and finance flows support green investment: i) to directly associated with the carbon market). attract private co-financing and While there is still no formal agreement investment for green infrastructure; on what to count as climate finance and ii) to work with middle-income under the United Nations Framework country governments to support policy Convention on Climate Change reform processes and build local (UNFCCC) targets, the magnitude of the capacity and conditions so as to make different flows suggests that private green investment viable in the longer finance will play a critical role in the term (OECD, 2013a). Delivered through future (Clapp et al., 2012; World Bank/ bilateral or multilateral development IMF/OECD/RDBs, 2011). Mobilising co-operation channels, external official private sector investment is clearly development finance often has a essential to successfully tackling catalytic role in shifting and scaling up climate change. green investment. Removing fossil-fuel subsidies Removing fossil-fuel subsidies has the potential to lower the global cost of reducing GHG emissions, and improve countries’ fiscal outlooks through reduced public expenditure and increased tax revenues. Subsidy removal would help shift the economy away from carbon-intensive activities, encourage energy efficiency, and promote the development and diffusion of low-carbon technologies and renewable energy sources. Fossil-fuel consumption subsidies amounted to USD 550 billion in 2013 in emerging and developing economies, while support for fossil-fuel production and consumption in OECD countries amounted to an estimated USD 55-90 billion per annum in recent years. Phasing out fossil-fuel subsidies can pave the way for carbon- pricing policies by helping to “get the prices right”. However, subsidy reform is politically challenging and can in some cases
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Towards Transformative Climate Justice: Key Challenges and Future Directions for Research
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orking Paper Volume 2020 Number 540 Towards Transformative Climate Justice: Key Challenges
    [Show full text]
  • PLAYBOOK for CLIMATE FINANCE Innovative Strategies to Finance a Cooler, Safer Planet
    PLAYBOOK FOR CLIMATE FINANCE Innovative strategies to finance a cooler, safer planet Playbook for Climate Finance 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 Introduction 4 What is Climate Finance? 5 How Climate Finance is Taking Shape How We Do It 6 Carbon Pricing 8 Impact Investment 11 Blue Bonds for Conservation 13 Insuring Natural Infrastructure 15 Leveraging Multilateral Funding Sources 16 Conclusion Playbook for Climate Finance 2 INTRODUCTION Every day, we see the toll climate change takes on our planet. It represents an immediate threat to economic security and prosperity, as well as the physical health of human and natural communities. But addressing climate change is an opportunity for innovation in all facets of human life—in how we provide food and goods for a growing population, provide clean and affordable energy for communities, design healthy and livable cities, conserve and protect lands and oceans, and provide water security for future generations. Many of the tools and resources we need to tackle climate change already exist, and human innovation keeps creating new possibilities. However, the window of opportunity is closing. This is the critical decade to reduce risks of catastrophic climate change, major biodiversity loss and other environmental problems that are increasing human suffering. The COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly a setback, of course, creating a level of global system shock not witnessed since World War II. But the current crisis has also shown our collective vulnerability—and our collective capacity to mobilize rapidly and decisively against threats that have no regard for international borders, such as climate change. It’s up to our leaders as well as every single one of us to decide whether we allow this era to be defined by inaction and frustration, leading to devastating impacts, or whether it’s a springboard to a better world.
    [Show full text]
  • Climate Finance Tracking Guidance Manual
    1 Table of contents 1. General introduction ......................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Rationale for tracking climate finance ................................................................................... 4 1.2 Climate finance tracking in the AfDB ..................................................................................... 5 1.3 Outline of the structure of guidance ..................................................................................... 5 2. Preparing for tracking climate finance ................................................................................ 7 2.1 When does climate finance tracking take place? .................................................................. 7 2.2 To what is this guidance applied? ......................................................................................... 7 2.3 Who is responsible? .............................................................................................................. 7 2.4 What information is required? .............................................................................................. 7 2.5 How are the results reported? .............................................................................................. 8 3. How to track climate finance ............................................................................................. 9 3.1 STEP 1: Define qualifying project elements ..........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Climate Finance in the Urban Context
    DEVELOPMENT · CLIMATE · AND FINANCE Climate Finance in the Urban Context November 2010 COSTS OF ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION IN CITIES ISSUES BRIEF #4 A good deal of climate-resilient development in the urban Cities and the people who live in them context simply means good, robust development. Potential climatic changes pose additional challenges in building account for more than 80 percent of the infrastructure that can withstand extreme variations in world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. In weather conditions, such as flooding, wind storms, heat waves, and heavy snowfall. Increasingly the work toward addition, more than 80 percent of the over- the Millennium Development Goals and related urban all annual global costs of adaptation to infrastructure should be screened for the potential impacts and increased costs associated with a changing climate. climate change are estimated to be borne by urban areas. This Issues Brief looks at There is an incremental cost to climate-resilient develop- potential financing opportunities and costs ment for which cities are seeking additional financing. Cities are also the largest emitters of greenhouse gases of mitigation and adaptation in the urban (GHGs) and are experiencing increased costs as they move context. Wide-ranging potential sources for toward low-carbon development paths—that is, mitigat- ing GHG emissions. finance for climate action are described, and suggestions are made for more- When addressing adaptation and mitigation costs, the effective responses to climate investment broad range of financing needs includes: challenges in cities. • Upstream planning for the provision of urban services • Prefeasibility and feasibility analysis of investments • Support for climate change adaptation and disaster risk management at the city level 2 • Support for low-carbon solutions in the energy sector opportunity for rapidly growing cities: they can be built • The design and construction of investments better and avoid locking in costly, high-emitting and non- • Maintenance and repair climate-resilient infrastructure.
    [Show full text]
  • CLIMATE FINANCE ADAPTATION STUDY REPORT Ethiopia
    CLIMATE FINANCE ADAPTATION STUDY REPORT Ethiopia 2 0 2 0 ADAPTATION FINANCE TRACKING REPORT FOR ETHIOPIA TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES 3 List of Figures 3 List of tables 3 ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMINOLOGY 4 SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6 1. INTRODUCTION 12 2. NEEDS FOR ADAPTATION FINANCE 12 2.1 Global climate context 12 2.2 Climate context in Ethiopia 13 3. OVERVIEW ON CLIMATE FINANCE 14 3.1 Climate finance flow to Ethiopia 14 3.2 Development partners 14 3.3 Ratio of Adaptation and Mitigation Finance 15 3.4 Cross-cutting or overlap figures for Ethiopia 15 4. ANALYSIS BASED ON PROJECT DOCUMENTS AND OBSERVATION 17 4.1 Methodology 17 4.2 Assessment results from Step 1: Climate Vulnerability Context 23 4.3 Assessment results from Step 2: Statement of Purpose or Intent 23 4.4 Assessment results from Step 3: Clear and direct link between climate vulnerability and project activities 24 4.5 Comparing reported and assessed Rio markers and adaptation-relevant finance25 4.5.1 Consolidated 3-step results 25 4.5.2 Comparing donor and assessment team adaptation finance totals 26 4.5.3 Comparing donor and assessment team Rio markers 28 4.5 Conclusion 29 5. ANALYSIS OF POVERTY ORIENTATION, GENDER AND THE JOINT PRINCIPLES FOR ADAPTATION 31 5.1 Poverty orientation results and analysis 31 5.1 Gender equality and adaptation analysis 32 5.3 JPA principles results and analysis 33 5.4 Conclusion 34 List of Annexes 35 Annex A: Methodology for the research (brief version) 35 Annex B: List of Assessment Team and Advisory Group
    [Show full text]
  • Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset
    energies Editorial Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset Wen-Hsien Tsai Department of Business Administration, National Central University, Jhongli, Taoyuan 32001, Taiwan; [email protected]; Tel.: +886-3-426-7247 Received: 29 October 2020; Accepted: 19 November 2020; Published: 23 November 2020 1. Introduction The Paris Agreement was signed by 195 nations in December 2015 to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change following the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. In Article 2 of the Paris Agreement, the increase in the global average temperature is anticipated to be held to well below 2 ◦C above pre-industrial levels, and efforts are being employed to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 ◦C. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides information on emissions of the main greenhouse gases. It shows that about 81% of the totally emitted greenhouse gases were carbon dioxide (CO2), 10% methane, and 7% nitrous oxide in 2018. Therefore, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (or carbon emissions) are the most important cause of global warming. The United Nations has made efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or mitigate their effect. In Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, three cooperative approaches that countries can take in attaining the goal of their carbon emission reduction are described, including direct bilateral cooperation, new sustainable development mechanisms, and non-market-based approaches. The World Bank stated that there are some incentives that have been created to encourage carbon emission reduction, such as the removal of fossil fuels subsidies, the introduction of carbon pricing, the increase of energy efficiency standards, and the implementation of auctions for the lowest-cost renewable energy.
    [Show full text]
  • Getting Climate Finance Right: Successful Examples for the Green Climate Fund from Around the World a Working Draft
    Getting Climate Finance Right: Successful Examples for the Green Climate Fund from around the World A Working Draft July 2015 Co-Editors: IPS is the nation’s oldest multi-issue progressive think tank, connecting peace, justice and the environment for 50 years. www.IPS_DC.org. For more information about our work on energy, climate and the Green Climate Fund, please contact Janet Redman, climate policy program director, [email protected]. Friends of the Earth U.S., founded by David Brower in 1969, is the U.S. voice of the world’s largest federation of grassroots environmental groups, with a presence in 75 countries. Friends of the Earth works to defend the environment and champion a more healthy and just world. Through our 45-year history, we have provided crucial leadership in campaigns resulting in landmark environmental laws, precedent-setting legal victories and groundbreaking reforms of domestic and international regulatory, corporate and financial institution policies. For more information, please contact Karen Orenstein, senior international policy analyst, [email protected]. The Institute for Policy Studies and Friends of the Earth U.S. have been actively engaged in global debates about the role of the Green Climate Fund since its inception, focusing on meeting the needs of those most impacted by climate change while supporting the shift toward a clean energy economy. For the purposes of this paper, we reached out to international networks working on issues of climate-related international financing and asked for existing examples of adaptation and mitigation projects, programs and policies that people felt had been successful. Our aim was to collect a selection of brief ‘snapshots’ with a diversity of location, size, and sector that could serve as positive examples of the types of activities the Green Climate Fund should support.
    [Show full text]
  • Climate Finance Readiness Lessons Learned in Developing Countries Table of Contents
    Climate Finance Readiness LESSONS LEARNED IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Table of Contents 1 Introduction .......................................................................... 1 2 Current In-Country Financial Architectures in Developing Countries ....................... 4 3 Findings on Challenges in Climate Finance Readiness Processes ........................... 6 4 The What and How of Climate Finance Readiness: Recommendations .................... 11 4.1 Functions of In-Country Financial Architectures in Developing Countries ............... 11 4.2 Objectives of Climate Finance Readiness Processes .................................. 14 Annexes ............................................................................... 17 References ............................................................... Inside back cover Acronym List ABC » Agricultura de Baixo Carbono GEA/CER » Grupo Especializado de Asistencia del Perú/ Centro de Ecoeficiencia y Responsabilidad Social ASERCA » Apoyos y Servicios a la Comercialización Agropecuaria GEx » Grupo Executivo sobre Mudança do Clima BANCOMEXT » Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior IDB » Inter-American Development Bank BANOBRAS » Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos MEF » Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas del Perú BNDES » Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico MINAG » Ministerio de Agricultura del Perú e Social MINAM » Ministerio del Ambiente del Perú CAN » Comunidad Andina de Naciones MINEM » Ministerio de Energía y Minas del Perú CDM » Clean Development Mechanism MTC » Ministerio de Transportes
    [Show full text]
  • REDD+ and International Climate Finance: a Brief Primer
    Date Issue Brief # ISSUE BRIEF REDD+ and International Climate Finance: A Brief Primer Daniel F. Morris and Andrew Stevenson September 2011 Issue Brief 11-13 Resources for the Future Resources for the Future is an independent, nonpartisan think tank that, through its social science research, enables policymakers and stakeholders to make better, more informed decisions about energy, environmental, natural resource, and public health issues. Headquartered in Washington, DC, its research scope comprises programs in nations around the world. 2 MORRIS AND STEVENSON | RESOURCES FOR THE F U T U R E REDD+ and International Climate Finance: A Brief Primer Daniel F. Morris and Andrew Stevenson1 Introduction—What Is International Climate Finance? International climate finance (or climate finance), which has become a central pillar of global efforts to address climate change, is generally defined as financial flows or mechanisms originating outside of a developing nation that support actions within these nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or adapt to climate change impacts. Climate finance is typically divided into three categories based on the different mitigation and adaptation needs of developing countries: reducing deforestation, by providing compensation slowing and reversing the conversion of forests to other land uses and the degradation of healthy forests; deploying clean technology, primarily through research and development, technical assistance, and preferential financial incentives in the power, industrial, and transportation sectors; and adapting to climate change impacts by taking steps such as studying expected impacts, building disaster rapid-response capabilities, modifying infrastructure, encouraging ecosystem resilience to climate impacts, developing flood- and drought-resistant crops, and creating new climate-related insurance products.
    [Show full text]
  • Common Principles for Climate Mitigation Finance Tracking Version 2 – 15Th June 2015
    Common Principles for Climate Mitigation Finance Tracking Version 2 – 15th June 2015 Introduction The purpose of these Common Principles for Climate Mitigation Finance Tracking (or the Principles) is to set out agreed climate change mitigation finance tracking principles for development finance. The Principles have been developed by the joint climate finance group of multilateral development banks (MDBs)1 and the International Development Finance Club (IDFC)2 based on their experience on the topic and with the intention to be shared with other institutions that are looking for common approaches for tracking and reporting. The principles consist of a set of common Definitions and Guidelines including the list of activities, but do not cover aspects related to their implementation, including quality control procedures which remain the sole responsibility of each institution and/or group. The Principles reflect the approach that both groups (MDBs and IDFC) have been following for tracking climate change mitigation activities for the past 4 years, and are based on the application of harmonized terms. Purpose The MDBs and the IDFC commit to the Principles in their respective, group-based climate mitigation finance reporting. MDBs and IDFC invite other institutions to adopt the Principles and therewith further increase transparency and credibility of mitigation finance reporting. As an inherent and important part of improving mitigation climate finance tracking, the Principles will be subject to further revision by MDBs and IDFC jointly, based on amassed experience, and also, as a future step, should address comparability of reporting processes. In this respect, MDBs and IDFC are committed to maintaining an open and transparent exchange of information around institutional experience and learning, as well as to jointly discuss potential proposals to improve the Principles.
    [Show full text]
  • International Climate Finance Plan
    U.S. INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE FINANCE PLAN The climate crisis represents an existential threat to the security and prosperity of communities in the United States and around the world. At the same time, responding to the climate crisis offers one of the greatest opportunities in history for innovation, sustainable economic growth, and the creation of high-quality jobs. This is why the Biden-Harris Administration has made tackling the climate crisis in the United States and abroad a top priority. Enabling bold action to reduce emissions and build resilience against the impacts of climate change will require mobilizing and aligning finance at scale. President Biden’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad (E.O. 14008, signed January 27, 2021) called for the preparation of a Climate Finance Plan (herein “Plan”). This Plan—the first of its kind in the U.S. government—focuses specifically on international climate finance. For the purposes of this Plan, “climate finance” refers in part to the provision or mobilization of financial resources to assist developing countries to reduce and/or avoid greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and build resilience and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The Plan also addresses the need to better align public and private financial flows consistent with what is needed to achieve the Paris Agreement’s temperature and resilient-development goals. The Case for International Climate Finance The case for the United States to provide and mobilize international climate finance is compelling. Reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change make clear that avoiding the worst impacts of climate change will require limiting the increase in global average temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
    [Show full text]
  • Finance for Climate Action a S N a P S H Ot O F T H E Wo R L D B a N K G R O U P ’ S C L I M at E Wo R K
    Finance for Climate Action A s n A p s h ot o f t h e Wo r l d B A n k G r o u p ’ s C l i m At e Wo r k 9420_FinanceClimateAction.indd 1 11/20/15 10:48 AM 9420_FinanceClimateAction.indd 2 11/20/15 10:48 AM Finance for Climate Action A s n A p s h ot o f t h e Wo r l d B A n k G r o u p ’ s C l i m At e Wo r k 9420_FinanceClimateAction.indd 1 11/20/15 10:48 AM © 2015 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank The World Bank 1818 H St NW Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000 Internet: www.worldbank.org This work is a joint product of the World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of the World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries Rights and Permissions The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because the World Bank encourages dissemination of their knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given.
    [Show full text]