The EDB at COP 29 called on the parties to enhance cooperation on climate co-financing

A delegation of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), headed by Conrad Albrecht, Managing Director and Head of the Sustainable Development Directorate, attended the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. A key topic in 2024 was the issue of climate finance. The EDB participates in the Conference on a permanent basis, and since this year in the new Observer status of to the UNFCCC.

On November 12^th, Conrad Albrecht together with representatives of the Islamic Development Bank and Invest India participated in the session of the World Green Economy Organization (WGEO) and UN Climate Change Global Innovation Hub "WGEO SDG Stimulus: Mobilizing Affordable & Predictable Climate Finance for Developing Nations”. In his speech on how multilateral development banks and other international financial institutions can increase the volume of climate change lending and what reforms are necessary for this, Conrad A. stressed the role of EDB as the leading multilateral development bank in the Eurasian region, which actively supports projects to reduce the carbon footprint and adapt the region's economy to climate change and said that only with joint and harmonized cooperation with other MDBs, UN and non-UN organizations, the private sector and simultaneously ensuring a balance between the development goals of countries and climate goals will it be possible to increase the amount of financing for the growing number of projects in the region.

On November 14^th, a side-event of the Astana International Financial Center “Prospects for developing blended climate finance mechanisms” was held, where in addition to EDB participated Dr. Ma Jun, Chairman of the Green Finance Committee, B. Abisheva - Deputy Chairperson of the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, Sean Kidney - CEO of Climate Bond Initiative, Andrew Jeffries - Energy Transition Advisor for the Asian Development Bank. AIFC is one of EDB's key partners in promoting and implementing regional and international sustainable development initiatives.

Key takeaways shared by EDB during its intervention:

• Blended finance mechanisms: combining grants, concessional loans, and risk-sharing instruments are essential for catalyzing private sector investment.

• The region’s cumulative climate investment needs are enormous: $400 billion across Central Asia (excluding China), with 86% of this requiring private capital and working with the private sector (session concept note) — where the EDB has a longstanding expertise.

• Effective examples we can build on, for example:

Conrad Albrecht expressed hope for further cooperation with MDBs/MFIs, international funds and institutional investors to scale these solutions.

On the same day, the Kyrgyz Pavilion hosted a side-event “Towards a Sustainable Kyrgyz Republic: Opportunities in Green and Climate Finance” organized by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic, Climate Finance Center under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic (CFC), OJSC "Eldik Bank", UNDP in the Kyrgyz Republic. Conrad Albrecht, as part of a side event, spoke at a session on investment opportunities for development partners and prospects for cooperation, where he said that, in accordance with the Bank’s current medium-term strategy, the water and energy complex of Central Asia is one of the priority areas of the EDB’s activities. According to Conrad, one of the major “green” projects in the Bank's portfolio is the construction of the Kulanak HPP in the Kyrgyz Republic, which will reduce the country's energy deficit by 18%, providing it with clean energy, and there are other promising projects, indicating increased investment in the development of sustainable projects in the Kyrgyz Republic.

One more event on November 14, where EDB took part online was the Banking Meeting of Latin America & Caribbean and Asia-Pacific Regions “Financial Cooperation for Sustainable Development: Connecting LAC and Asia-Pacific through Development Financial Institutions”, organized by ALIDE и ADFIAP. Albrecht Conrad, Managing Director and Head of the EDB's Directorate of Sustainability, spoke about the Bank's bilateral and multilateral partnerships, including those with Latin American countries, aimed at sustainable financing, as well as interaction with the private sector.

On November 15^th, the World Green Economy Organization (WGEO) Pavilion hosted a panel session entitled “Modernizing Infrastructure for a Green Future: Transitioning from Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energy Systems”. In his speech, Conrad emphasized that Central Asian countries are still dependent on fossil fuels, but they have great potential and resources in the production of hydroelectric power, especially in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to decarbonize the economy. Conrad also suggested as a mechanism to scale up existing and reliable energy saving transformations and provide additional support to countries in the form of technical support, grants, concessional loans, as well as to help countries become more bankable not only with the resources of one organization, but also with co-financing with other MDBs, organizations, co-sharing venture capital with other companies.

Finally, one of the most important events in which the EDB participated was the Ministerial Meeting on Circular Economy “Empowering interregional partnerships for circular economy transition: towards a climate resilient and sustainable future via resource-efficiency” co-organized by the COP29 Presidency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, UNEP and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). Expanding on the topic of transition to circular economy (CE), A. Conrad noted that the circular economy in Central Asian countries is at an early stage of development - the concept of circular economy is not widely known and the lack of specific standards and capacities is also an obstacle to its development. Given this, there is growing interest and potential for promoting CE practices by multilateral development banks (MDBs), public equity funds and other organizations. For its part, the EDB fully agrees and supports the MDBs shared vision for circular economy of integrating CE principles into policy frameworks and building internal knowledge and skills, as well as stimulating the flow of private capital e.g. through blended finance. “The Bank is actively involved in bridging the financial gap in the circular economy, we believe this will help unlock the circular economy in the region”, said Conrad.

Key takeaways from COP29:

• An ambitious “New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG)” target was set on the level of $300 billion per year by 2035 for developing country parties for climate action

• MDBs issued a joint statement outlining their financial support and other measures for low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) by 2030 will reach USD 120 billion, including USD 42 billion for adaptation, and MDBs aim to mobilize USD 65 billion from the private sector

• Articles 6.2, 6.4, 6.8 of the Paris Agreement were approved

• A decision has been reached to fully operationalize the long-awaited Loss and Damage Fund, which is essential for developing countries, particularly small island nations, least developed countries, and African nations

• Mukhtar Babayev, the environment minister of Azerbaijan, the host of this year’s climate conference, calls for Private Sector to invest in a low-carbon economy

• The Accelerated Partnership for Renewable Energy (APRECA) in Central Asia by IRENA and Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Energy was launched

• 25 countries and the European Union launched a Call to Action to reflect no new unabated coal in their electricity systems as part of their national climate plans.

Belarus voiced proposals for global action to combat climate change, which would require the consolidation of international efforts - reconfigure national economies, especially agriculture, taking into account changed conditions, and adapt it to new conditions. Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection said that Belarus is already exceeding its obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions - according to him, as of 2022, the reduction in emissions was 57%, while the target set for 2021 is a 35% reduction in emissions.

Kazakhstan, among only 9 countries out of 197 members of the UNFCCC, submitted a Biennial Transparency Report (BTR1) at COP29. A positive decision was made to hold the next regional climate summit in 2026 in Kazakhstan, which will become a platform for developing joint strategies and solutions to combat climate change. Kazakhstan plans to update and present its NDC at COP 30 in 2025.

President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, in his speech at COP29, noted that the country has initiated a mechanism for exchanging external debt for climate and sustainable development projects. In accordance with nationally determined contributions, Kyrgyzstan plans to reduce emissions by 16% of the business as usual scenario by 2030, and by 44% with international support.

Russian representatives stated the country being able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than half from 1990 levels and plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. The participation of the Russian delegation in the COP-29 will be the first carbon-neutral one in all the years of the conference’s existence: the carbon footprint of the delegation will be compensated by the Sibur company.

President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon proposed the establishment of a regional coordination center for glaciology in Dushanbe under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and in cooperation with other development partners.

In his speech, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed to establish an International Center for Assessment of Climate Losses and Damage to expand technical assistance from leading states and multilateral institutions to identify climate challenges faced by developing countries, and to establish a regional genetic resource bank in Uzbekistan to improve plant resilience to climate change and a UN Agro-Industrial Innovation Hub for landlocked countries. The president also spoke about Uzbekistan's ambitions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by 2030, increase the share of green energy to 40%, and expressed readiness to expand these commitments by 2050.

Additional Information:

The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international financial institution investing in Eurasia. For more than 18 years, the Bank has worked to strengthen and expand economic ties and foster comprehensive development in its member countries. The EDB's charter capital totals US $7 billion. Its portfolio consists principally of projects with an integration effect in transport infrastructure, digital systems, green energy, agriculture, manufacturing and mechanical engineering. The Bank adheres to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ESG principles in its operations. Kazakhstan accounts for almost 60% of the Bank’s investment portfolio. 

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