Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, 2 June 2022  – Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) President and Group Chairman, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, while addressing the official opening ceremony of the Group’s 2022 Annual Meetings in Egypt, announced the Bank’s target of fully aligning its sovereign operations with the objectives of the Paris Agreement by end of 2023.

The IsDB Group has launched its Action Plan for Operationalization of the Paris Alignment (2022-2023), which aims to support its 57 member countries in mitigating and adapting to climate change as well as harnessing the opportunities it offers.

The Action Plan builds upon IsDB’s Climate Change Policy (2019), Climate Action Plan (2020-2025), and a climate finance goal of 35 percent of total financial commitments by 2025.

Climate change threatens the health and wellbeing of human and natural systems and undermines future sustainable development prospects, particularly in developing and emerging economies. As the world’s largest south-south development finance institution – touching the lives of one in every five people globally – the IsDB Group has an important role to play in supporting enhanced climate actions.

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change, adopted by 196 Parties at the 21^st United Nations Climate Conference in Paris, 2015. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate-neutral world by mid-century.

Through Paris alignment, IsDB Group’s operations will be consistent with and support the implementation of its member countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions as well as the development and implementation of ambitious long-term climate strategies to help make their economies climate-resilient while moving towards low-carbon development.

To help operationalize the Paris Agreement, multilateral development banks (MDBs), including the IsDB Group, have developed a joint MDB Paris Alignment Approach. The approach comprises six building blocks: (i) alignment with mitigation goals, (ii) adaptation and climate-resilient operations, (iii) accelerated contribution to transition through climate finance, (iv) strategy, enhancement, and policy support, (v) reporting, and (vi) aligning internal activities. IsDB is working collaboratively with other MDBs to develop practical methods and tools to support progress under each of the building blocks. IsDB Group’s Action Plan for Operationalization of Paris Alignment (2022-2023) aims to internalize the broader MDB Paris Alignment Approach by outlining a clear organizational work plan.

The Paris Alignment Action Plan complements IsDB Group’s realigned organizational strategy, for the period of 2023-2025, which aims to boost recovery, tackle poverty and build resilience, and drive green economic growth. Key strategic pillars include (i) green, resilient and sustainable infrastructure, and (ii) inclusive human capital development, while climate change is a cross-cutting area for all activities.