NEWS &
EVENTS

Workshop with development banks at AFD Headquartes, March 06. Credit: Lucía Vásquez Tumi/10 Billion Solutions

On March 6th, PEEB and IFC joined forces to host a workshop at AFD’s Paris headquarters titled "Scaling up Financing for a Resilient and Low-carbon Built Environment". Chaired by IFC global technical lead for EDGE green building certification, Ommid Saberi and Nicolas Picchiottino, Secretary-General of the International Development Finance Club (IDFC), this session drew over 30 representatives from multilateral, bilateral, and national development banks, including members of the IDFC. Together, they identified actionable strategies to strengthen our collective interventions in the buildings sector.

To get the sector on track to net-zero emissions, a steep decline in emissions from buildings and construction must be achieved by 2030 to meet the Paris goals. Solutions are at hand but they need to move faster! Supporting energy efficiency policies and investments has never been more critical.

Participants emphasized the crucial role of multilateral, bilateral, and national development banks in scaling up investments in sustainable building sectors. They discussed challenges related to increasing financing for a resilient and low-carbon built environment, exchanging experiences, insights, and brainstorming on how banks can collectively do more and better. The group identified key challenges to tackle and committed to ongoing collaboration to drive these initiatives forward:

• Deployment of fast-track mechanisms, financing tools and project preparation funds to boost funding in the sector
• Working on policy frameworks and planning, harmonizing construction and building initiatives with National Determined Contributions (NDCs).
• Supporting value chain and sector-wide approaches that address building materials and the construction industry as a whole
• Aligning resilience, decarbonization, and social agendas, in line with JET approach (Just Energy Transition)
• Support for advocacy, capacity building, awareness raising, and recognizing the importance of tailor-made technical assistance and human capital to our partners
• Promoting partnerships and collaborative approaches between development banks

The session, moderated jointly by AFD and IFC, saw participation from several development banks including the African Development Bank Group, IDB Invest, CEB, BERD, EIB, World Bank Group, NMC, CDG Morocco, Japan International Cooperation, HBOR, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, KfW, Agence Française de Développement, Shelter Afrique as well as the IEA.

In concluding the Buildings and Climate Global Forum, AFD's Deputy Director-General, Betrand Walckenaer, and IDFC's Secretary-General wrapped up the proceedings alongside Minister Christophe Béchu, announcing the next gathering for development banks, the FICS in China in October. This event will assemble over 1,300 representatives from Public Development Banks, governments, the financial sector, civil society, and media, fostering dialogue to craft a more inclusive and sustainable global financial architecture and tranisition towards more environmentally sustainable built infrastructure.

Manelle Ait-Sahlia (AFD) speaks at the development banks workshop at AFD Headquarters, March 06. Credit: Lucía Vásquez Tumi/10 Billion Solutions

Background:

Established in 2011, IDFC leads a coalition of 26 national and regional development banks worldwide, primarily active in emerging markets. It stands as the largest provider of public development and climate finance globally, with assets exceeding US$ 4 trillion and annual commitments surpassing US$ 800 billion, including a notable US$ 190 billion dedicated to climate finance. IDFC members play a unique role in supporting domestic policies while aligning with international priorities, particularly the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement agendas. Through IDFC, in close collaboration with other development bank networks, members pool resources to promote and leverage Sustainable Development Investment globally.