Washington, DC (BBN)- Leading industrialized nations has pledged more than US$6.1 billion to the Climate Investment Funds, a pair of international investment instruments designed to provide interim, scaled-up funding to help developing countries in their efforts to mitigate increases in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate change.
Meeting at the World Bank in Washington, representatives of 10 countries (Australia, France, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States) emphasized their support for the Climate Investment Funds, formally approved on July 1 by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors, according to a World Bank press statement.
The first proposals to benefit from funding under the CIF are expected to be announced early in 2009, the statement added.
The Climate Investment Funds were created through a consultative process involving a series of multi-stakeholder design meetings and taking account of extensive global climate change consultations held by the World Bank Group over the past nine months.
Consultations took place with potential recipients and donors, the United Nations family, other multilateral development banks (MDBs), civil society organizations, and the private sector.
The funds, to be disbursed as grants, highly concessional loans, and/or risk mitigation instruments, will be administered through the multilateral development banks and the World Bank Group, the statement noted.
BBN/SI/SS/AD-29September08-12:28 PM (BST)
