The two groups will work together to increase the pace and scale of clean energy deployment and capital mobilisation across Asia.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Bloomberg Philanthropies have agreed a partnership to speed up renewables adoption across Asia, with a focus on project preparation, knowledge exchange and finance innovation.
AIIB President Jin Liqun explained: “This is the crucial decade for climate action. We must massively expand clean energy globally, and developing countries cannot be left behind in this race. By working together with Bloomberg Philanthropies, AIIB can unlock and mobilize additional capital through innovative approaches and financing tools that help deliver the UN’s 2030 Agenda.”
Michael R. Bloomberg, the UN secretary general’s special envoy on climate ambition and solutions and founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, added “Multilateral development banks play a critical role in fighting climate change, especially when it comes to unlocking capital for clean energy investments in developing countries. This new partnership will facilitate faster deployment of renewable energy projects, which will improve public health and generate economic growth. We look forward to working with AIIB and all our partners to increase clean energy access across Asia.”
As a major contributor to global emissions, Asia’s sustainable development is crucial for achieving the Paris Agreement objectives. With regional energy demand set to grow three percent a year until 2030, ensuring this demand is met with clean energy will be critical to meeting international climate goals. Partnerships are crucial to reducing barriers, filling resource gaps and meeting climate financing needs to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
The partnership has three aims:
Project Preparation and Implementation: The partners will examine how that can deploy resources to co-finance the preparation, development and implementation of renewable energy projects in Asia by creating enabling environments, developing investable projects, collaborating with the private sector and collaborating through mutual partners such as the Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) Platform.
Innovative Finance Mechanisms: They will work together to co-develop blended finance structures that leverage MDB balance sheets and philanthropic resources to mobilise large-scale private and institutional capital. This will be invested into green energy transition investments in Asia, in collaboration with mutual partners such as Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) and the UAE COP28 Presidency.
Knowledge Exchange & Collaboration: They will leverage their unique networks and platforms to promote best practices and showcase initiatives across mutual areas of work, including the global call on MDBs to scale up climate finance, mobilize private capital and scale up capacity in developing countries to accelerate the net zero transition.
