IFIs' Contribution to International Climate Finance

The International Financial Institutions (IFIs) make a key contribution to tackling the challenges of climate change alongside development policy objectives. IFIs are increasingly setting more ambitious climate finance targets and have committed to full alignment with the Paris Agreement. As part of its cooperation with IFIs, the BMF is promoting these climate finance targets and the alignment with the Paris Agreement.

IFIs' Contribution to International Climate Finance

The IFIs have significantly increased their climate targets in recent years. For example, 45 percent of the World Bank Group's annual financing shall be devoted to climate-related projects. According to the “Joint Report on Multilateral Development Banks' Climate Finance”, in which a group of multilateral development banks (MDBs) (the World Bank Group and regional development banks) report on their contribution to climate finance, these MDBs provided a total of USD 74.7 billion for climate finance in low- and middle-income countries in 2023 (of which 67 percent for climate change mitigation and 33 percent for climate change adaptation).

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) provides statistics on the contribution of individual IFIs to international climate finance. This means that the contribution of these institutions is independently verified and can be transparently tracked. Austrian contributions to IFIs are attributed to Austria's international climate finance via the OECD Imputed Multilateral Shares. This is published in the annual report on international climate finance by the BMLUK. In addition, the BMF leverages further funds for international climate finance by commissioning the Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB), as the official development bank of the Republic of Austria.

Alignment of the IFIs with the Paris Agreement (“Paris Alignment”)

Within the “Joint MDB Working Group on Alignment with the Paris Agreement”, the IFIs are working on a joint methodology to align all their activities and financial flows with the Paris Agreement. This methodology is intended to enable a harmonized assessment of whether individual activities are compatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement (“Paris aligned”). The IFIs also committed to a specific date from which they will act in full compliance with the Paris Agreement. Most IFIs are Paris-aligned as from 2023 and the IFC, the AsDB and the AfDB from 2025.