New IFC Initiative Helps Banks in Mexico, Philippines, South Africa, Egypt Scale Climate Finance

Through a new initiative launched last week, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will work with financial institutions in four countries to mobilize private sector financing for climate mitigation and adaptation projects and help align financial-sector strategies with the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement.

The program, "Scaling Up Climate Finance through the Financial Sector," is designed to increase climate lending by participating banks in Egypt, Mexico, the Philippines, and South Africa to 30 percent of their portfolios by 2030, while reducing exposure to coal. The first phase of the initiative will be funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of Germany's Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, or BMU.