The United Arab Emirates on Friday announced a $30 billion climate fund that aims to attract $250 billion of investment by the end of the decade.
Dubbed ALTÉRRA, the fund will allocate $25 billion to climate strategies and $5 billion to incentivize investment flows to countries like Uganda or generally the global South to fight the effects of climate change. Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns mainly caused by human actions especially burning fossil fuels like coal, and oil and gas.
The president of the ongoing Climate Change Conference in Dubai or COP28,Dr. Sultan Al Jaber said the funds will be delivered under a private climate financing mechanism known as ALTÉRRA.
The innovation is part UAE Declaration on a Global Climate Finance Framework declaration at the World Climate Action Summit (WCAS). Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, as described it as “innovative thinking…for financing the new climate economy”
“No single initiative will create the climate finance system we need. Together, we must build a holistic ecosystem of solutions.”
Dr. Al Jaber announced the establishment of “The Global Climate Finance Centre that will support the delivery of the Declaration by driving fit-for-purpose financial policies and project pipelines to unlock funds at unprecedented scale. the Global Climate Finance Centre and the Declaration will champion .
The Declaration aims to ensure that climate finance is available, affordable, and accessible. Dr.Al Jaber said the Declaration focuses on rebuilding trust, reframing climate investments as economic opportunities on scaling up climate finance
Some of the leaders from the global South including Kenya’s President, William Ruto, Ghana’s Nana Akufo-Addo, India’s Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, and the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley welcomed the innovation as they continued to as for more climate financing.
President William Ruto is in Dubai to further push the Nairobi Declaration on Climate change from the Africa Climate Summit.
While thanking the innovation by UAE, Ruto emphasized that the world is in the current climate crisis because of fossil fuel energy and that it will get out of the crisis through renewable energy.
“And that is why we believe that we are very well positioned to be a part of the solution to the challenge that we have today. So that no country is left to make a choice and climate action,” said Ruto
African leaders have right from the September 2023 Africa Climate Summit asked for a reform and IMF. They have complained of high-interest rates on loans from the IMF and the World Bank.
That is an issue that the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo raised again during a panel discussion with UK Prime Minister, Richard Sunak, William Ruto of Kenya, Mia Amor Mottley of Barbados, EmmanuelMacron of France, and India’s Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.
The UAE has also committed an additional $200 million of Special Drawing Rights to the IMF Resilience and Sustainability Trust to support climate resilience in developing countries. The Declaration is part of the positive outcomes of COP28 being held in a country that has largely depended on its oil and gas resources for development.
It follows a $4.5 billion commitment to clean energy projects in Africa earlier in the year. The Declaration captures the achievement of other outcomes this year, including the replenishment of the Green Climate Fund, the expected delivery of the decade-old $100 billion goal in 2022, and the early capitalization of Loss and Damage.
The UAE also launched the Global Climate Finance Centre (GCFC), a private-sector-focused think tank that will be a climate finance center of excellence and the first of its kind in the region. It will provide research, and capacity building to catalyze low-carbon, high-growth investments in the region and globally.
