The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced the first nine eligible projects that will be part of the IDB CLIMA pilot program, an innovative financing approach that rewards borrowers for achieving nature and climate-related goals. The benefit consists of a subsidy of 5% of the principal of the IDB loan.
IDB CLIMA’s objective is to help countries access green and thematic debt markets to mobilize capital for larger scale climate and nature investments. It will initially finance ten pilot projects, with a total loan envelope of US$1 billion. The first nine countries that will participate in the program are Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, Suriname and Uruguay. The full list of participating projects and countries will be announced at the IDB Annual Meeting in March 2024.
IDB President Ilan Goldfajn celebrated the achievement at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP28. «Demand has been higher than we expected, and our teams are already working with our partners in the region to roll out these first pilot projects. “We welcome this opportunity to show how IDB CLIMA can support our entire range of borrowers in meeting their national commitments to climate and nature,” he stated.
To qualify for the benefit, borrowers must meet three Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are designed to help them take full advantage of the green and thematic debt markets. These indicators are related to the establishment of ambitious environmental objectives, the identification of appropriate policies and expenditures to achieve these objectives, and the ability to measure and report on their progress in a timely manner.
Latin America and the Caribbean at COP28
The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are a fundamental part of the solution to the global challenges of climate change. At the IDB’s Americas Pavilion, the Bank is organizing more than 30 events with international leaders and experts to showcase initiatives on climate action, from cutting-edge financial instruments to the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, the Amazon, a just economic transition and much more.
