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Concrete Commitments at Inaugural Summit
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The first ever international summit of public development banks, unfolding over four days from 9 to 12 November, gave rise to a series of major announcements. They all point towards a global financial system dedicated to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals and to total alignment with the Paris Agreement. Here are some highlights of an historic moment.
Having gathered virtually in Paris on 12 November, the world's 450 public development banks, representing some 10% of all global investment, issued a joint declaration committing to the alignment of their financial firepower with the Paris Agreement.
See also: the joint declaration
The International Development Finance Club (IDFC), representing the 26 largest regional and national development banks in the world, and for which the climate is already a priority, announced new measures at the Finance in Common Summit. Among them are tools allowing PDBs to further align policies with the Paris Agreement and add a social dimension to their response to the Covid-19 crisis, while recognizing the interplay between climate change and biodiversity.
The IDFC also announced several flagship decisions, such as the creation of the IDFC Climate Fund, announced at COP25, and a strategic partnership with the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
The private sector will also benefit from serious support: financial institutions are joining forces to dedicate at least US $4 billion to small African businesses by the end of 2021. Public development banks (BPDs), and in particular Development finance institutions (DFIs) which provide technical and financial assistance to the private sector in developing countries, thus commit to backing inclusive financial solutions for micro, small and medium enterprises.
On gender equality, ResponsAbility Investments is committed to applying a gender perspective to its investments through its climate fund. This commitment from one of the main Swiss sustainable asset managers has enabled the Climate Fund, a private debt fund that addresses the lack of access to clean energy mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and in South and South Asia, to qualify for the 2XChallenge. It’s a major initiative that aims to raise and deploy capital with the aim of fostering the empowerment and economic participation of women in emerging markets.
The IDFC also announced a massive investment in the conservation, sustainable use and restoration of biodiversity. Recognizing the importance of public investment in efforts to halt biodiversity loss and enable long-term economic recovery, IDFC members are joining forces to adopt a common position to maintain our environmental capital and develop a pro-biodiversity economy.