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MPTF Office releases brief on climate and environment pooled funding ahead of COP28
New York, 1 December 2023 - The UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) Office has released a new brief on advancing climate and environment finance agendas through UN inter-agency pooled funds. The report highlights the importance of leveraging climate finance around the world and how UN pooled funds can be used to catalyze action and structure available finance. This brief comes ahead of the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which will take place in 2024.
The report notes that United Nations action on climate and environment Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is still highly underfunded, which is problematic as addressing the climate emergency through these SDGs requires integrated approaches and substantial investments, something UN pooled funds are designed for. In this context, pooled funds are used to advance and complement financial mechanisms established under international frameworks, such as the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity framework.
The UN Common Agenda called for "urgent and bold steps to address the triple crisis of climate disruption, biodiversity loss, and pollution destroying our planet." As the climate and environment are interconnected, the report argues that addressing these issues requires a comprehensive approach that leverages the expertise of different UN agencies and their partners.
The report also highlights the unique features of UN inter-agency pooled funds, such as their ability to sequence available and often disconnected funding for climate and environment initiatives. By tapping into and connecting with existing financial systems, pooled funds can articulate and structure sources of funding other than climate funds such as national, private, and blended resources. Additionally, multi-partner trust funds combine different sources of funds to derive integrated solutions and require collective commitments from a variety of partners.
The report notes that the climate portfolio benefits from the common design features of pooled funds as well as the complementary expertise of UN agencies and their partners. United Nations Resident Coordinators play an important role in galvanizing joint action at the country level and facilitating political engagement.
The report also provides data on the MPTF Office administered climate and environment funds commitment and deposits for active funds as of November 2023. The report notes that the top contributors are Norway, Germany, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Sweden, Netherlands, France and Denmark. There is also an increasing engagement in contributions by the private sector and non-state actors.
In conclusion, the report argues that UN pooled funds provide a powerful mechanism for catalyzing action and structuring available finance to address the climate emergency and environment SDGs. The report calls for increased funding and engagement from all stakeholders to ensure that the world can meet the ambitious targets set out in the Paris Agreement and the SDGs.