- Ten multilateral development banks, including the New Development Bank, have outlined joint principles of how they will ensure alignment of their new operations with the mitigation and adaptation goals of the Paris Agreement.
- This is the culmination of joint work over the last few years.
- NDB is committed to supporting the successful and urgent transition of its member countries to a low-carbon and climate-resilient future.
- As part of its General Strategy for 2022-2026, NDB will work towards aligning its new operations with the Paris Agreement by the end of the strategy period.
- The Bank also aims to direct 40 percent of its total financing over the 2022 – 2026 period to projects contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Multilateral development banks (MDBs), including the New Development Bank (NDB), have released the joint principles of how they will ensure alignment of their new financing with the goals of the Paris Agreement—the culmination of work over the last five years to ensure a consistent and harmonised approach. The principles represent the outcome of work amongst MDBs since the Paris Agreement was signed. MDBs committed to align their new financial flows with the objectives of the Paris Agreement in 2017.
The published documents are a result of significant collective effort and provide clear guidance on how investment projects need to be structured to be aligned with the Paris Agreement’s climate goals.
The MDBs’ joint Paris Alignment approach aims to accelerate and support the successful and urgent transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient future by supporting clients develop appropriate short-term and longer-term development pathways in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement and aligning financial flows to said goals.
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP21 in Paris, on Dec. 12, 2015, and entered into force on Nov. 4, 2016.
To ensure a consistent approach to the implementation of the Paris Alignment commitment, in 2019 the MDBs developed a framework for aligning activities with the Paris goals, with six building blocks: alignment with mitigation goals, adaptation and climate-resilient operations, accelerated contribution to the transition through climate finance, engagement and policy development support, reporting, and alignment of internal activities.
The joint principles are an important addition to NDB’s toolkit for achieving its strategic commitments in support of climate action. Under its General Strategy for 2022–2026, the Bank stands committed to working towards aligning its new operations with the goals of the Paris Agreement. NDB also aims to direct 40 percent of its total financing over the 2022 – 2026 period to projects contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
MDBs will continue to work together on this important topic after the publication of the said Joint MDB Paris Alignment Methodological Principles, recognising the need to continue to refine approaches through implementation.
MDBs working together for the release of the joint methodological principles are the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Council of Europe Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank Group, Islamic Development Bank, New Development Bank, and the World Bank Group.