MDBs’ Alignment Approach to the Objectives of the Paris Agreement

Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) today announced a joint framework for aligning their activities with the goals of the Paris Agreement, reinforcing their commitment to combat climate change.

In a joint declaration, the MDBs committed to working together in six key areas considered central to meeting the goals of the Agreement, which aims to limit the increase in global temperatures to well below 2°C, pursuing efforts for 1.5°C.

The declaration was issued at the start of the 24th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24) in Katowice, Poland.

"The global development agenda is at a pivotal point," the joint declaration says. "There is international consensus on the urgent need to ensure that policy engagements and financial flows are consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development."

The MDBs and the International Development Finance Club (IDFC) had already pledged in December 2017 to align financial flows with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

"To realise this vision, we are working together to develop a dedicated approach," the joint MDB declaration adds.

The MDBs plan to break their joint approach down into practical work on six core Paris Alignment areas-the building blocks-including: aligning their operations against mitigation and climate-resilience goals; ramping up climate finance; capacity building support for countries and other clients; plus an emphasis on climate reporting.

This approach builds on the on-going MDB contribution to climate finance, which, in 2017, amounted to US$ 35 billion to tackle climate change in developing and emerging economies, mobilising an additional US$ 52 billion from private and public sector sources.

The MDBs will report back to next year’s COP25 gathering on their progress under the six building blocks.

The nine MDBs are: The African Development Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank Group, the Islamic Development Bank, the New Development Bank, and the World Bank Group (World Bank, IFC, MIGA).