Today, with the addition of four new partners, financial pledges towards the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) ETAF platform reached USD 4.05 billion, surpassing its original target for COP28 by more than fourfold.
The platform, established in 2021 with support from the United Arab Emirates, aims to scale up renewable energy projects that contribute to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in developing countries, while also bringing benefits to communities through enhanced energy access and security, and promoting economic growth and diversification.
Collaboration agreements with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), HSBC, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) were signed with IRENA at COP28.
Under the agreements, EBRD pledged up to USD 1 billion to the platform; the IFC up to USD 1 billion; HSBC up to USD 200 million; and MIGA will provide guarantees and risk mitigation products for selected ETAF projects.
During the event, the OPEC Fund, which had pledged USD 250 million to ETAF earlier this year, signed a supplementary agreement committing an additional USD 400k in grants aimed at providing technical assistance to eligible projects applying on the platform.
The announcements come days after the signing of several key agreements, including the Emirates Development Bank committing USD 350 million to ETAF, the Islamic Development Bank allocating USD 250 million, and the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit offering de-risking products for renewable energy projects in developing countries.
Other key partners of ETAF include the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Masdar, Swiss RE, the OPEC Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank.
With the latest partnerships established at COP28 and in the build up towards it, the ETAF Platform has now reached a total of 13 partners, demonstrating its rapidly expanding role as an inclusive and effective financing tool for the energy transition.
For more on ETAF, click here.
For more on IRENA at COP28, click here.
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