Plans set out by ten major banks aim to help turn global ambitions into outcomes with a strong focus on nature.
A series of commitments covering their approach to nature, leadership, investment, collaboration and reporting have been set out at COP26 by ten of the world’s largest multilateral development banks.
The banks involved are the Asian Development Bank (ADB), African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), IDB Invest, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and World Bank Group.
They have committed to better reflect the critical role of nature in providing resources and services that underpin and support the planet, human health and wellbeing, economic growth, jobs, and livelihoods, food security, and air, water, and soil quality.
While the banks have done much to mainstream environmental sustainability into their policies and operations in recent years, they have all committed to continue to go further with 20 commitments that include:
Supporting a sustainable, inclusive, green, and resilient post-COVID recovery.
Seek to support reforms in the public and private sectors to redirect, repurpose, reform or eliminate environmentally harmful subsidies, while boosting incentives to support biodiversity.
Working to understand the financial and systemic risk of nature loss to public and private portfolios.
Develop, test, and expand the use of innovative instruments to support nature positive investment.
Support countries to develop appropriate policies, investment frameworks and agreements that better value and enhance natural assets for the benefit of all people.
Stepping up nature financing and efforts to leverage private finance for investments in nature, including for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Aligning objectives and developing tools and methodologies for tracking ‘nature positive’ investments across portfolios.
Enhancing public reporting on their efforts and initiatives to mainstream nature in our analyses and operations.
Multilateral development banks are a among the world’s largest investors in infrastructure and their approach over the coming thirty years will be crucial to achieving zero carbon in infrastructure and more widely.
To read the full statement, click here (external site).
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