2022-09-24-联合国西亚经济社会委员会-阿拉伯区域的气候融资需求和流量（英）_12页_4mb

Summary of Climate Finance Needs and Flows in the Arab Region

Core Content

The Arab region is highly vulnerable to climate change, with projections indicating a significant rise in temperature and a decline in precipitation. These changes threaten water security, agricultural productivity, tourism, ecosystems, and public health, exacerbating socioeconomic and environmental challenges. To build resilience and adapt to these impacts, the region requires substantial climate finance, estimated at $570 billion until 2030. However, the current level of international climate finance is far below what is needed.

Main Points

• Climate Vulnerability and Needs: The Arab region is projected to experience a temperature increase of nearly 5°C by the end of the century under high emission scenarios. Precipitation levels are expected to decrease, leading to more frequent droughts, forest fires, and flash floods. The region's climate finance needs are largely conditional on public international support.

• Current Climate Finance Flows: Over the past decade (2010-2020), the Arab region received $34.5 billion in public international climate finance, with only $90 million annually from the Green Climate Fund (GCF). This is less than 6% of the total financing needs for NDC implementation.

• Debt vs. Grants: A significant portion of the climate finance received is in the form of loans rather than grants. In 2010-2020, loans totaled $30 billion, more than seven times the $4 billion in grants. Non-concessional debt now represents 75% of total public climate finance flows, while concessional debt and equity finance have declined.

• Adaptation Underfunded: Despite the region's emphasis on adaptation, only 20% of climate finance flows were allocated to adaptation projects until 2018. Over the past decade, adaptation finance amounted to $7.75 billion, compared to $24.84 billion for mitigation. Adaptation needs are less costed due to uncertainties in climate projections and limited experience in costing methods.

• Geographic Disparities: There is a significant imbalance in the distribution of climate finance, with 92% of flows going to six countries: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia. The six least developed Arab countries received only 6.6% of the total climate finance over the same period.

• Sectoral Disparities: The energy and transport sectors received the majority of climate finance, accounting for 45% of flows between 2015 and 2020, while water and agricultural sectors received only 22%. Environmental and disaster risk reduction interventions received just 4% of the total.

Key Recommendations

1. Develop a Climate Finance Strategy: Align climate action with national development strategies, ensuring local context is considered for sustainable and owned climate initiatives.
2. Provide Capacity-Building for Costing Needs: Enhance the ability of Arab States to identify, articulate, and cost their climate needs to attract more funding.
3. Facilitate Adaptation Costing: Support efforts to quantify adaptation costs through better data and stakeholder cooperation.
4. Build Capacity to Demonstrate Climate Rationale: Use climate and vulnerability analyses to justify and prioritize climate interventions.
5. Provide Capacity-Building for Climate Fund Access: Address the challenges in accessing climate funds by improving accreditation processes and using readiness funding.
6. Increase Grant and Concessional Financing: With public debt reaching $1.4 trillion, there is a need for more grant-based support to reduce financial burden.
7. Use Climate Finance Strategically to Mobilize Private Sector Investment: Leverage public finance to attract private capital through catalytic mechanisms such as credit guarantees and public-private co-financing.

Conclusion

The Arab region requires a substantial increase in climate finance to meet its adaptation and mitigation needs, particularly for vulnerable countries and sectors. Strengthening local capacity, improving access to climate funds, and shifting towards more grant-based financing are critical steps to ensure a just and inclusive energy transition and enhance climate resilience.