WASHINGTON - Today, Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen convened the heads and private sector leads of several of the multilateral development banks (MDBs) for a third time. This meeting follows two previous meetings in 2021 where she urged the MDBs to rapidly align their portfolios with the goals of the Paris Agreement and to redouble their efforts to mobilize significantly more private capital for climate. Participants included U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and representatives from the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank Group, and the World Bank Group.
Secretary Yellen received progress updates from the MDB heads on their previous commitments, including with respect to increasing private capital mobilization for climate change. She used this meeting to a put spotlight on climate adaptation and how MDBs are scaling financing for adaptation—a critical issue particularly for emerging markets. During the meeting, the Secretary underscored that the worst effects of climate change are on the most vulnerable communities. She urged the MDBs to increase their attention to climate adaptation and resilience, which will support so many sectors of economies, including food security and agricultural productivity. Secretary Yellen also highlighted the importance of developing diverse sources of renewable energy to promote energy security and create greater resilience against global shocks like Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Secretary Yellen looks forward to the MDBs’ public announcements of progress on their action plans and pledged to remain actively engaged on these issues and to continue working with the MDBs to help them achieve these objectives, with COP27 in November as a major milestone.
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