The Inter-American Development Bank and the United Kingdom agreed to pledge £1.39million (approximately US$2.8 million) to the IDB’s recently created Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Fund (SECCI Fund). The pledge makes the U.K. the first contributor to the projected multidonor fund.
“We appreciate the commitment of the United Kingdom Government in working with the IDB in tackling the problem of climate change that the countries of the region face,” said IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno.
U.K. government authorities said that they are working with the IDB and other multilateral banks as they are well placed in the international system to act as ‘champions’ for developing countries to help ensure an international agreement on climate change that is consistent with growth in these countries.
Medium term U.K. goals for working with the multilateral development banks (MDB) include the creation of a mechanism, such as a high level MDB working group, to facilitate coordination and build upon the comparative advantages of the institutions to work on regional needs, and formulate clear targets toward a global level of ambition for clean energy investments.
The IDB’s partnership with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) enables the SECCI Fund to expand and hone its support for economically and environmentally sound energy options and effective responses to climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean. The SECCI Fund was created in August with an initial IDB contribution of US$20 million.
The fund will foster increased investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency, biofuel development, carbon financing and an expanded sustainable energy portfolio. Climate change mitigation and adaptation of policies and programs across sectors in the region may also be financed by this fund.
Resources will finance the development and implementation of country level assessments, policy framework analysis and assistance for policy reforms required for investments in biofuels, renewable energy and energy efficiency. Resources will also finance activities related to project identification, preparation and capacity building.
Institutions that may access the IDB SECCI Fund include government ministries, climate change national authorities, planning agencies, public and private corporations, sub-national governments, private project developers, non-governmental organizations and academic and research institutions.
DFID has contributed US$26 million in grants and know-how to finance poverty reduction, local capacity building, social inclusion, pro-poor growth and trade, and good governance for the IDB member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.