By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
The German Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) has supported a total of 385 ongoing and new projects in developing countries and emerging economies with €601.2 million under the International Climate Initiative (IKI).
In 2019, investments totalled €467 million and some €410 million in 2018. The necessary recovery after the pandemic will therefore be combined with ambitious climate action and biodiversity conservation.
Parliamentary State Secretary, Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, said: “Initially, we were worried that the partner countries of the International Climate Initiative in the global South would not be able to maintain their cooperation in climate and biodiversity projects.
Fortunately, this didn’t happen. Of course, conserving biodiversity and mitigating climate change is particularly challenging in many countries because of the health crisis. That is precisely why the IKI is so important. I am really pleased that we were even able to increase our IKI commitment.”
Since the IKI was founded in 2008, the BMU has supported developing countries and emerging economies in climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, the restoration of forests and other ecosystems and biodiversity conservation. The IKI has approved funding of €4.5 billion for over 750 projects since it was launched.
Of the 385 ongoing projects in 2020, 109 were newly approved, extended or topped up prior to the end of December 2020. The sum of €600 million were distributed across the four funding areas of the IKI as follows:
Projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions: €393 million,Projects to adapt to the impacts of climate change: €108 million,Projects to conserve natural carbon sinks and forests: €53 million,Projects to conserve biological diversity: €65 million. IKI projects seldom focus exclusively on one funding area. Financial commitments to biodiversity from projects in other funding areas add up to an additional €73 million, thus the total funding for biodiversity for 2020 stands at almost €138 million (22%).
Over the past year, the IKI has focused its funding on developing climate action and biodiversity conservation into immediate drivers that will set the pace for economic recovery and economic security. Over 400 million euros were tendered for the green recovery with the IKI Corona Response Package, the annual thematic selection procedure 2020 and the Ambition Initiative of the NAMA Facility (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action) for especially ambitious mitigation projects.
This helps address the social and economic impacts of the pandemic. The funding goes towards supporting indigenous groups, conserving biological diversity, strengthening protected areas and buffer zones, and promoting sustainable urban development and the energy transition. In addition, financing is provided for economic advisors in countries.
