The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has allocated together with IDB Invest – the private arm of the IDB Group – more than US$26 billion (€25.157 billion) in climate finance for Latin America and the Caribbean between 2016 and 2021, which represents around 60% of the environmental financing earmarked for the region by multilateral development banks.
Of that total, $8.3 billion (€8.032 billion) has been earmarked for climate adaptation and resilience, a relevant figure in a region where natural disasters have tripled in the last 50 years.
According to a recent IDB study, investing in long-term adaptation plans can save lives, present and future material assets, and prevent or reduce damages and losses caused by climate change.
On this issue, it is estimated that every dollar invested in resilient infrastructure can generate up to four dollars in economic benefits. «Therefore, it is important that countries incorporate climate risks into their development plans and prioritize multi-sectoral actions to improve resilience,» the bank explained.
In the words of the IDB, these figures reflect the group’s «commitment» to the region, making it a priority «strategic ally» when facing climate emergencies.
In the framework of the COP27, the IDB is conducting bilateral meetings and managing agreements to advance in green transition, among which highlights the first regional program to promote electric mobility based on green hydrogen in Latin America and the Caribbean, in which the entity and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) collaborate.
Under this fund, $450 million (435.5 million euros) in the form of concessional loans and grants is expected to be allocated to Barbados, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay.
