As an affiliated event to the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris , BWC organized a roundtable discussion Financing the Future: The Role of IFIs in Development and Climate Finance. The roundtable featured a cross-section of participants from MDBs, private sector, and civil society and highlighted the work of BWC’s Climate and Energy Transition Finance and Multilateral Reform working groups.
Key themes that emerged were:
- Shifting the Narrative: It is crucial to move beyond the notion of tradeoffs between climate finance and poverty reduction and instead perceive them as complementary goals.
- Country-Specific Context: IFIs should consider not only the global perspective but also the specific conditions of individual countries when contextualizing projects within their national development plans.
- Expanding Bankable Projects: MDBs must enhance their efforts in expanding the pipeline of viable projects through effective coordination, project preparation, and increased investment in upstream policies.
- Proactive IFI Leadership: IFI management should play a proactive leadership role in recommending and incentivizing policy change, especially when consensus among shareholders is difficult or slow.
- Coordinated Roles: Coordinating the roles of MDBs is vital to ensure that each institution fills unique gaps in the financial ecosystem, avoiding redundancy or unhealthy competition.
- Enhanced Risk-Sharing: MDBs should further explore risk-sharing mitigation instruments with the private sector while being mindful of avoiding moral hazard.
BWC would very much like to thank the roundtable participants for their substantive contributions.
- Thierry Déau, Chairman & CEO, Meridiam
- Emily Slater, Executive Director, BWC
- Creon Butler, Director, Global Economy and Finance Programme, Chatham House
- Ayaan Adam, Senior Director and CEO, AFC Capital
- Erik Berglof, Chief Economist, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
- Susanna Gable, Deputy Director, Development Policy and Finance, Gates Foundation
- Jean-Xavier Hecker, Co-Head of ESG Research, JPMorgan
- Françoise Lombard, CEO, Proparco
- Yasmine Moezinia, Program Director, Climate Finance, Sequoia Climate Foundation
- Herman Mulder, Chair, Impact Economy Foundation
- Stephen Paduano, Research Director, London School of Economics
- Nandita Parshad, Managing Director, Sustainable Infrastructure Group, EBRD
- Jolie Schwarz, Senior Program Officer, Gates Foundation
- Veronica Scotti, Chairperson Public Sector Solutions, Swiss Re Management Ltd
- Ethiopis Tafara, Vice President and Chief Risk, Legal & Sustainability Officer, MIGA
- Patricia Torres Leandro, Head of Sustainable Finance Solutions, Bloomberg
- Yves Trevilly, Secretary General, SICPA SA