Introduction
The CETF team has followed the current debate on MDB reform, including the proposals put forth by multiple groups, including IPCC, IEA, and the Bridgetown Initiative, the preparations ahead of the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact to be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron last June, as well as the G20’s call for, “better, bigger and more effective Multilateral Development Banks.” These ideas are expected to be further developed at the World Bank–IMF Annual Meetings in Morocco (October 9–15), and COP28 in Dubai (beginning November 30), among others.
The CETF Project Team is also factoring in broader themes that motivate both developed and developing economies, such as the urgent quest for energy security and the response to rising geopolitical tensions. This first brief examines the specific role of MDBs in closing the gap in climate and energy transition finance. How can the MDBs’ contribution—either direct or indirect, via leveraging private finance and philanthropies—be enhanced quickly and effectively? How can this be achieved while protecting the other essential roles of MDBs in provision of development finance? And what will it mean for MDBs’ relationships with other institutions that provide private and public climate finance—such as the United Nations’ Green Climate Fund and Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST)?
