Sweden, bank sector announce $5.43b climate pledges at COP29 on Finance, Investment and Trade Day

The COP29 Business, Investment, and Philanthropy Climate Platform (BIPCP) saw the announcement from investor groups—with over $10 trillion in assets—that they will unite to develop a shared vision and action plan to accelerate the deployment of private capital into climate markets.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced $3.5 billion in funding for a new programme to help counter the impact of melting glaciers, while Azerbaijan’s banking sector has allocated $1.2 billion for green projects until 2030.

Sweden announced a $730 million contribution to the UN Green Climate Fund, bringing the total funding, pledges and contributions to $5.430 billion on Finance, Investment and Trade Day.

On Friday, ADB launched a new regional programme to promote sustainable water use and food security in Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and Pakistan amid the catastrophic impacts of melting glaciers.

With support from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), ADB will conduct glacier risk assessments in Azerbaijan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

These will form the scientific and technical basis for the program—called Glaciers to Farms—which envisages mobilising up to $3.5 billion from a range of actors including ADB, GCF, other development partners, and the private sector, subject to those institutions’ board approval processes.

In addition to water and agriculture investments, the program will support vulnerable communities threatened by glacial melt, particularly in fragile mountain regions.

On behalf of the banking sector of Azerbaijan, Zakir Nuriyev, President of the Azerbaijan Banks Association, announced details of a pledge which will allocate $1.2 billion for the development of green and sustainable projects in Azerbaijan until 2030.

The funds will support projects contributing to Azerbaijan’s transition to a low-carbon economy. This follows the Central Bank of Azerbaijan introducing a new green taxonomy to guide sustainable investments.

Sweden has announced a contribution of $730 million to the UN Green Climate Fund (GCF). This will support low-and middle-income countries to invest in adaptation measures to protect their societies against climate change and will also support investment in climate initiatives to reduce emissions.

This brings Sweden’s overall contribution at COP29 to $749 million following the €19 million it contributed to the Fund for Loss and Damage earlier this week.

 WAM