SPOTLIGHT
NOVEMBER 9
Spurring a multibillion-dollar partnership
High-profile launch of the Arab Coordination Group US$24 billion climate facility
T he highlight for the OPEC Fund at COP27 was a joint public commitment with the Arab Coordination Group (ACG) to provide a cumulative US$24 billion in financing by 2030 to address the global climate crisis. Unveiling the package, OPEC Fund Director-General Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa was adamant: “The time for action is now.” The ACG package, backed by a majority of the group’s member institutions, will “support the acceleration of the energy transition, the increased resilience of food, transport, water and urban systems, and the promotion of energy security in countries including the least developed countries and small island developing states,” the group said in a press release.
The OPEC Fund spearheaded the initiative with the adoption of its Climate Action Plan in September 2022 with the goal of increasing climate finance to 40 percent of all new financing by 2030. In parallel, the streamlining of climate finance will allow the Fund to deepen its impact and effectiveness. Sitting on a high-level panel beside the Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank Group Muhammad Al Jasser and Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al- Mashat, Dr. Alkhalifa said: “Addressing climate change is urgent, but we must do it in a way that is compatible with combating energy poverty. Our key T he OPEC Fund’s panel session on sustainable infrastructure gave Ms. Al-Sheiby the opportunity to discuss ways to mobilize resources with partner organizations such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and the Multilateral Cooperation Center for
premise is that climate action and development must be integrated.” Thereafter, the OPEC Fund’s Senior Director for Strategic Planning and Economic Services Al Shaimaa Al-Sheiby presented the Climate Finance and Energy Innovation Hub with partners from the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL). Outlining the OPEC Fund’s ambitions she said: “For every 1 dollar we invest, we aim to raise 4 dollars from other sources.” Kick-started with US$100 million from the OPEC Fund, the hub will promote clean cooking to address energy needs and climate concerns.
NOVEMBER 10
Development Finance (MCDF). Ms. Al-Sheiby identified three main challenges:
Paving the way to sustainable infrastructure
• Financing , with the OECD predicting the infrastructure investment gap to reach US$15 trillion by 2040, • Timing , with the need to plan for generations in advance, and • Sustainability , with the need to accommodate conflicting interests. In the discussion, AIIB Senior Investment Operations Specialist Francisco José Fortuny Carod presented a joint project in Nepal, where the AIIB and OPEC Fund are partnering in the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project with a capacity of 216 MW for a total cost of US$650 million. Hesham Elsafty, NBE Group
head, shared his bank’s experience in providing long-term infrastructure loans to small and medium-size investors, while Ede Ijjasz, MCDF senior advisor, showcased the center’s work with the example of a road development program in Laos. Participants agreed that infrastructure development faces serious obstacles and that one solution would be more engagement to accelerate development of better and more cost- effective projects.
Al Shaimaa Al-Sheiby, OPEC Fund, Senior Director for Strategic Planning and Economic Services
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PHOTO: OPEC Fund/Julia Zacharenkova
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