Mobilizing Finance for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure

Barcelona, 7 September 2017. The UfM Secretary General, Fathallah Sijilmassi, and the UfM Deputy Secretary General for Energy, Jorge Borrego participated in the UNFCCC 2017 Forum of the Standing Committee on Finance, which took place in Rabat on 6-7 September. The 2017 SCF forum was held under the title “Mobilizing Finance for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure” and aimed at identifying gaps in mobilizing and accessing finance for climate-resilient infrastructure, as well as at providing high-level policy inputs and recommendations on how to scale up investment in climate-resilient infrastructure. In particular, it assessed trends in climate-resilient infrastructure, and explored measures to close the gaps and barriers in climate-resilient infrastructure financing.

Two sessions of the SCF Forum were dedicated to present the latest advancements of two UfM-labelled projects, namely the Integrated programme for the depollution of Lake Bizerte in Tunisia, and the Multi-Site Urban Regeneration in Jericho, Palestine.

Climate-resilient infrastructure, and particularly its financing, are fundamental in the adaptation to climate change. The UfM Secretariat is conducting a study on climate finance in the Mediterranean to provide a clear overview of the funding flows for climate action in the region. The study is funded by the European Commission and it will be presented at the COP23, to be held in Bonn next November under the Presidency of the Republic of Fiji.

In accordance with its mandate, the Union for the Mediterranean is deeply involved in the drive for a Mediterranean climate action agenda. As observer to the UNFCCC, the UfM Secretariat will actively participate in the COP23 to shed light on the situation of climate finance in the region and stress the importance of the role played by youth in climate action in the Mediterranean. The UfM believes that youth needs to be actively involved in taking action and contributing to policy making. In this regard, it supports the Mediterranean Youth Climate Network (MYCN), which gathers seven youth associations in the Mediterranean that are deeply concerned about the impact of climate change in the region and are highly motivated to take priority actions and contribute to international and regional climate forums.

More information 

Watch the video created by UNFCCC that provides a summary of the main themes discussed by participants at the forum.