The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is preparing to launch major environmental initiatives, sign significant loan agreements, and actively participate in discussions on climate finance during the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Report informs that, according to Harry Boyd-Carpenter, EBRD Managing Director for Climate Strategy, "climate finance is central to this year’s COP."
"As a climate finance leader in our regions and the strongest mobiliser of private finance, we expect to launch significant green initiatives, sign major loan agreements and actively contribute to climate finance discussions."
In 2023 alone, the EBRD allocated over €6.5 billion to green projects, accounting for 50% of its total investments. Among multi-party development banks, the EBRD stands out for attracting private finance: for every euro invested by the bank in the green economy, more than three euros of private capital were attracted.
At COP29, which focuses on accelerating climate finance, the EBRD will collaborate with other multilateral development banks to strengthen national and private climate initiatives, helping to attract more private capital.
The EBRD delegation at the conference will be led by Bank President Odile Renaud-Basso, First Vice President Jürgen Rigterink, Vice President for Policy and Partnerships Mark Bowman, and Managing Director for Climate Strategy Harry Boyd-Carpenter.
The EBRD's participation in the COP29 conference reaffirms the bank's leading role in financing climate projects and mobilizing the private sector in the countries where it operates. The EBRD, the largest institutional investor in the Caucasus, has been working in Azerbaijan for over 30 years. Its investments in the country amount to €3.7 billion, spread across 190 projects, including the first industrial-scale solar and wind power plants and sustainable infrastructure initiatives in Ganja, Azerbaijan's second-largest city.