NDF’s 1st week at COP24
Nordic Development Fund (NDF) participated in five events at COP 24 last week and we continue this week with more activities.
It was an active week for NDF at COP24 in Katowice in Poland where we participated in a number of events focusing on building resilience to climate change impacts. The conclusion is that the type of climate finance NDF provides is both strategic, value-adding, and much needed.
Program Manager Aage Jorgensen, representing NDF (1st week), participated in the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) event on The State of African Cities: Investing to Build Resilience. At the event, World Bank, UN-Habitat, Government of Morocco, AfDB and NDF discussed how to attract sustainable investments to African cities to build resilience. The conclusion is that upstream investments and partnerships are key building blocks.
NDF was also part of the panel discussion in the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) event Climate Change Impacts on Health and Climate Resilient Health Care in the Greater Mekong Subregion. This event with health officials from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, WHO, research institutions, ADB and NDF focused on the results of the NDF co-financed project: Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change in the Health Sector in Mekong. The discussion revealed that the project has a strong impact on the health sector in the three countries and helps transform the approach to tackle climate change and health.
Earlier in the first week, NDF discussed how to Unlock commercial finance for small-scale renewable energy in Africa with representatives from AfDB, EU and SNV. At Transport Day 2018, NDF shared tools and experiences from our portfolio in the special session on transport sector adaptation. The UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) organised an event on Catalyzing Investments for Resilient Infrastructure in Africa that presented the NDF project: Africa Climate Resilient Investment Facility (AFRI-RES). The panel with the African Union Commission, World Bank, African Development Bank, Africa Risk Capacity, World Resources Institute / New Climate Economy, International Hydropower Association and NDF discussed upstream preparation, tools and data for building resilience.
The second week starts today, Monday 10 December. NDF organises a special Debate Game on innovation and climate finance tomorrow Tuesday 11th at 15:30 at the Nordic Pavilion. On Tuesday, NDF will also be part of the Innovative Finance to Build Climate Resilience event 11-12:00 at the Pacific and Koronivia Pavilion. Today, NDF is also part of the 3rd Annual Climate Resilience and Adaptation Investment Side Event.