Germany, Denmark, UK, EU launch €100 mio funding contest for climate action in developing countries

Germany, Denmark, the UK and the EU will provide 100 million euros for climate change mitigation projects in developing countries, economy minister Robert Habeck said at the Global NDC Conference in Berlin. “Alongside the European climate targets, accelerating global climate protection is our central political task,” the minister said, calling for an “active role” of the public sector in mobilising private investments. With the help of the Mitigation Action Facility (MAF), the countries will provide the funds through a call for projects. “Private sector investments in future technologies often still require support and risk reduction through public funding,” Habeck said. Governments can submit applications for the funding competition together with implementing organisations, such as civil society organisations, development banks or private businesses. The 100-million-euro funding round was already announced at last year’s UN climate change conference COP27 in Egypt.

The MAF funds ambitious climate change mitigation projects – mainly in energy, transport and industry – to implement Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and long-term strategies (LTS) that are central to meeting the Paris Climate Agreement goals. NDCs are national climate action plans, which countries are supposed to update every five years under the Paris Agreement. The EU has yet to update its own NDC in the latest round.