Dubai, United Arab of Emirates, 13 February 2023 - Islamic Development Bank Group Chairman, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, participated in a high-level session on Climate Finance as part of the ongoing World Government Summit.

The session, co-organized by the Ministry of Finance of the United Arab Emirates and the International Monetary Fund, was also attended by H.E. Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs of the United Arab Emirates and IsDB Alternate Governor; Mrs. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and ministers of economy and finance and central bank governors from many countries including Oman, Kuwait, Morocco, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, and Tunisia.

During the session, Dr. Al Jasser noted that climate finance reached new heights in 2022 but is required to increase sharply to meet future mitigation and adaptation needs. "2022 was a year that emphasized the increasingly critical role that climate finance must play. The human and economic costs of climate-related events and disasters last year were like no other, as we saw in the devastating floods in Pakistan and the recurrent drought in the Horn of Africa," he said.

President Al Jasser also reiterated the Islamic Development Bank's commitment to chart a just transition to low-carbon, resilient, and inclusive development. He pointed out that driving green economic growth was identified as a key objective of IsDB's realigned three-year strategy.

In terms of finance, IsDB Group has made an ambitious commitment that by 2025, at least 35% of its operations will be in climate finance. IsDB is also committed to aligning its sovereign operations with the Paris Agreement by the end of 2023. The IsDB President further elaborated: "We support all aspects of the green development cycle, from knowledge generation and exchange to policy enablement, capital mobilization, and partnership leveraging. Our ultimate objective is to create environments favorable for generating climate-smart and green investments in our member countries."

Dr. Al Jasser cited multiple examples of how IsDB is committed to a green development agenda by taking concrete steps, such as dedicating over one-third of climate finance lending to adaptation measures.

Last year, IsDB announced a US$ 10.54 billion Food Security Response Program (FSRP), which supports member countries' governments in strengthening their resilience to climate change. Furthermore, the Arab Coordination Group, which includes the Islamic Development Bank, has announced a financing amount of at least US$ 24 Billion to address the climate crisis by 2030. In addition, the IsDB pledged to provide at least US$ 13 billion in adaptation and mitigation finance as part of this commitment.

In his remarks, Dr. Al Jasser highlighted the role of partnerships in enabling climate financing at scale, notably through mobilizing climate finance resources from specialized funds and supporting the mobilization of private-sector climate finance, including blended finance or green Sukuk issuance.

Also attending the event were leading officials from Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), the World Bank Group (WBG), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), the OPEC Fund for International Development, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).