The second day of the Global NDC Conference 2023 gathered many practical ideas from different stakeholders on how to mobilise finance for ambitious NDC implementation. Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action opened the field with his keynote speech in the morning by stating that public and private funds still go towards fossil fuels. In the future, they must be led by the state’s policy framework towards sustainable and green energy and investment. “We have the technology we need to achieve the 2030 climate targets, what we need is the will of policymakers and the society” said Habeck. Günther Thallinger of Allianz SE, the second impulse speaker of the morning, underlined that even though there are great developments, bringing financial investments and projects together remains a challenge, which needs to be tackled during the next years. Three remaining issues that Thallinger underlined were 1) understanding and managing risks 2) including expert capacity into the private and public sector and 3) planning on a large-scale.
A matter of public and private momentum
During the subsequent panel conversation, experts from the public and private sector shared their experiences and outlooks on mobilising finance for NDC implementation. It was highlighted that there is a large gap between existing finance and the need for funding. We are still missing a sense of emergency for the global climate issue, which becomes more pressing. Therefore, response actions need to be faster and scaled up in order to close the finance gap. Meaningful engagement from the private sector in accelerating climate finance is crucial, since public funding is not enough to tackle this issue alone. Especially because of the missing risk profiling private investments are still hindered. Therefore, analysing risk, ensuring financial returns and assessing the overall impact are crucial to mobilise climate finance.
Delving into solutions: A morning to explore and discuss how to best mobilise finance for NDC implementation
The morning continued with seven breakout sessions on specific topics of mobilising finance for NDC implementation. Practitioners and policy makers from 40+ different countries contributed their thoughts and experiences.
The breakout sessions covered topics like climate investment plans, green financial transformation, capacity building for accessing international finance, urban climate action, sectoral financial assessments, global carbon market, and private sector investments for adaptation. Each session delivered a whole range of solutions for practitioners and policymakers alike.
The NDC Partnership, for example, presented the topic of climate investment plans with support options for NDC investment planning, project development, and matchmaking. During the session it was pointed out that there is a need to reform the existing project preparation model by bringing in financial actors from an early stage on and changing the role of government from project developer to project approver. Within the preparation of project funding proposals, it should be considered to change from incremental proposals to a set of investment opportunities that are aligned and build on each other, instead of singular or sectoral proposals.
For detailed information on each topic of the breakout sessions, please visit the agenda of the Global NDC Conference.
Elaborating solutions together: An afternoon for peer-to-peer learning and deep dives
The afternoon was dedicated to an inspiring peer-to-peer learning process in form of challenge busters among the conference’s participants and deep dives into climate initiatives. During the challenge buster, participants could engage in an advisory process among themselves. Participants shared a challenge they are facing in their work and reflected in small groups on solution-oriented and innovative ideas, as well as next steps to take.
The parallel deep dives allowed for intensive engagement with the representatives of six relevant climate initiatives on the DNA of their respective climate actions: the V20 Climate Prosperity Plans, the Blended Finance Platform by MUFG, greening central banks, enhancing climate finance transparency, the City Climate Finance Gap Fund, and the Allianz Climate Solutions Emerging Markets Debt Fund.
A cheerful way to end the day: Dinner cruise to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the IKI
The second conference day ended in a relaxed and cheerful way. During a dinner cruise the circle of conference participants had the opportunity to network and converse while the buildings of political Berlin passed by on the banks of the river Spree.
On board, Philipp Behrens, Head of Division International Climate Initiative at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, addressed the audience with a short appreciation of the 15th anniversary of the International Climate Initiative (IKI), which has supported 950 projects in 150 developing and emerging countries up to date.
Graphic recording by Christoph J Kellner