GCA, European Bank for Reconstruction and Dev’t partner to scaleup adaptation action in world’s most climate vulnerable regions

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance climate adaptation action where it is most needed.

EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso and CEO of GCA, Prof. Dr. Patrick Verkooijen signed the MoU at the GCA Pavilion at COP27 on Finance Day,  a day dedicated to shining the spotlight on the climate finance ecosystem and the financial tools, opportunities, challenges and needs facing climate action.

The two organizations will cooperate across all areas of focus of the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), a program launched by GCA and the African Development Bank to mobilize $25 billion over five years to accelerate and scale climate adaptation action across the African continent. The AAAP’s Upstream Financing Facility has guided more than $3.5 billion in upstream investments in 19 countries, with every dollar spent influencing $100 downstream.

EBRD and GCA will focus their joint work on elements from the AAAP’s four pillars of transformative action, including infrastructure, with an initial focus on ports and other critical infrastructure, and resilient agriculture and the interplay between adaptation and food security. Their partnership will also encompass innovative financial products, with a focus on results-based finance, and on supporting, empowering, and offering capacity-building for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The organizations’ initial region of cooperation will be Africa, focusing on four EBRD countries of operation: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. In due course, EBRD and GCA plan to zoom in on other vulnerable regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, and the Eastern Mediterranean region.

EBRD is dedicated to supporting the economies in which it invests to meet their goals and commitments under the Paris Agreement. EBRD’s work on climate change adaptation reaches many sectors of the economy in its countries of operation, such as water supplies, hydropower generation, coastal infrastructure, and water-intensive industries such as agribusiness and mining. Investments in climate resilience can help private-sector businesses reduce costs, maximize profitability and increase competitiveness.

About the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is a multilateral bank committed to the development of market-oriented economies and the promotion of private and entrepreneurial initiatives in over 30 countries. The EBRD is owned by 71 countries, the European Union, and the European Investment Bank.
 
About the Global Center on Adaptation

The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) is an international organization which works as a solutions broker to accelerate action and support for adaptation solutions, from the international to the local, in partnership with the public and private sector. Founded in 2018, GCA operates from its headquarters in the largest floating office in the world, located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. GCA has a worldwide network of regional offices in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire; Dhaka, Bangladesh and Beijing, China.