Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 20 January 2016 - The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) today agreed on wide-ranging cooperation on environmental conservation in support of sustainable development and the fight against climate change.
UNEP Deputy Executive Director, Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw and the IDB President, Dr. Ahmad Mohammad Ali Al Madani signed the agreement in Jeddah, where the bank is headquartered.
The Memorandum of Understanding, set to run until June 2018 initially, covers objectives common to the two organizations in the areas of climate change, agriculture and food security, eco-innovation and green economy, and Islamic finance. Capacity building in member countries in all these thematic areas will be supported.
The overarching goal is to facilitate the implementation of both the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Mr. Thiaw, who also delivered a keynote speech on opportunities presented by the Paris Agreement, said, "The Islamic Development bank is increasingly redirecting the power of its finance to green investments, and UNEP looks forward to joining forces with this key player to drive the transition to a sustainable future."
The IDB is set to increase its financial support to Sustainable Development Goals realization to more than US$ 150 billion over the coming years. The bank is already a major player in the clean energy sector, with investments of around US$ 1 billion between 2010 and 2012.
The agreement also aims to encourage broader involvement of the international financial sector in sustainable development, which will be crucial to finance the investments required to promote a green future.
About IDB
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is a multilateral financial institution established under its Articles of Agreement with headquarters in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. IDB is established to foster socio-economic development of its Member Countries and Muslim communities in non-Member Countries. The ultimate goal of the Bank's 1440 (2020 Gregorian Calendar) Vision is to promote human development through investing in priority areas such as poverty reduction, health, education and governance.
http://www.isdb-pilot.org/ For more information please contact: Marie Daher Corthay, Information and Outreach Specialist, UNEP Regional Office for West Asia, marie.daher@unep.org
