Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 3 December 2024 - President of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, emphasized the urgency of mobilizing public and private finance to bridge the staggering annual financing gap of US$278 billion by 2030, as identified by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Financial Needs Assessment.

Dr. Al Jasser delivered these remarks at "Needs and Opportunities: Finance Thematic Day", a high-level event co-hosted by the Islamic Development Bank and the Global Environment Facility, held as part of the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16).

In his address, President Al Jasser described the challenges as considerable but stressed the need to view them as opportunities to devise creative and sustainable solutions to combat desertification, drought, and land degradation in IsDB’s 57 member countries.

Highlighting IsDB’s achievements, Dr. Al Jasser noted that the Bank has mobilized more than US$5 billion through Green and Sustainability Sukuk since 2019, aimed at attracting private sector finance for public goods. He also highlighted the Bank’s exploration of Takaful, the Islamic equivalent of insurance, as a means to protect vulnerable communities from climate-related risks. Furthermore, he reaffirmed IsDB’s commitment to allocating at least US$1 billion to drought resilience projects by 2030.

Dr. Al Jasser also emphasized IsDB’s decades-long support for the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture, based in Dubai, UAE, whose innovative solutions have helped millions of farmers worldwide adapt to challenging conditions.

He expressed hope that the IsDB Group’s approaches and programmes would serve as a foundation for others to share their experiences and best practices. “By doing so, we can ultimately accelerate progress by ensuring the proper support—both financial and non-financial— reaches the right people at the right time,” he concluded.

The event also featured the launch of foundational reports, including IsDB’s report titled "An Innovative Finance Framework for Sustainable Dryland Development." This knowledge product explores the urgent financing needs to combat land degradation, drought, and desertification, offering innovative pathways for sustainable solutions.