The United Arab Emirates and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) announced the launch on Wednesday of an Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) Platform, a new global climate finance facility to accelerate the transition to renewable energy in developing countries.
Launched at the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the platform will see a funding contribution from the UAE of $400 million through the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to help secure a minimum of $1 billion in total funding.
The ETAF platform will source projects on an ongoing basis, supplemented by calls for proposals aligned with Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals milestones. Investment-ready projects identified under IRENA’s existing Climate Investment Platform will also represent a notable pipeline.
Those attending the launch include Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan, the UAE minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, together with the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, the President of the Maldives, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbé, and the UAE Climate Envoy Sultan Al Jaber.
Al Nahyan said that the new ETAF platform would reinforce the long-standing commitment to support positive climate action for economic growth in developing and vulnerable countries.
"As one of the countries that has signed the UN framework convention on climate change, the UAE fundamentally believes we must work together globally to address climate change," he stated.
By Gulsen Cagatay in Glasgow, Scotland
Anadolu Agency