Eurasian Integration Yearbook 2012

Ella Baybikova. “Multilateral and Regional Development Banks in Northernand Central Eurasia: Overview of Activities in 2011”2011: Data and Reviewssaid they would develop a common approach for cities to assess climate risk,standardise greenhouse gas emissions inventories, and encourage a consistentsuite of climate finance options.The world’s coastal marshes became a point of interest for the World Bank. Inits new report, written jointly with the International Union for the Conservationof Nature (IUCN) and wetland specialists ESA PWA, the WB warned thatdrainage and degradation of coastal wetlands causes them to emit significantamounts of carbon dioxide directly to the atmosphere, and leads to reducedcarbon sequestration.The World Bank launched two new financial initiatives – the Carbon Initiativefor Development (Ci-Dev) and the third tranche of the BioCarbon Fund (BioCFT3) – to help the least-developed countries access financing for low-carboninvestments and purchase certified emission reductions (commonly called‘carbon credits’) from a diverse range of projects. The Ci-Dev, aiming to raise$120 million, is a partnership of donor and recipient countries where publicand private sector entities are pledging their support to capacity building andcarbon market development in the poorest countries of the world. The BioCFT3 will focus on reforestation and agriculture projects that go hand in hand withco-benefits such as decreased soil erosion and increased land fertility.EBRD joined the World Bank-led Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership(GGFR) to help governments in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistanintroduce energy efficiency measures to improve business competitiveness andenvironmental standards in oil and gas operations.IFC has become the first multilateral development bank to sign the UnitedNations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), extending its effortsto mobilise capital for investments that are environmentally and sociallyresponsible and adhere to high standards of corporate governance. As part oftheir collaboration, IFC and the UNPRI will initially focus on joint organisationof events in emerging markets to help raise awareness of the business case forresponsible investment.Moreover, IFC launched a new financial mechanism to promote homegrown“green” innovation in developing countries while encouraging the transfer ofclean technologies from developed to developing countries. The $60 millionCleantech Innovation Facility will target small, highly innovative start-upcompanies that offer products or services that mitigate carbon emissions.In 2011, IFC closed the IFC Post-2012 Carbon Facility after it was fully subscribedfor €150 million. The fund will extend carbon markets to help increase accessto finance for projects that promote environmentally friendly economic growthand reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.Eurasian Development Bank315