UAE, IRENA unveils $1bn global climate finance platform at COP26

UAE, IRENA unveils $1bn global climate finance platform at COP26

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The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) has committed $400 million to the Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) Platform, a new global climate finance facility to accelerate the transition to renewable energy, in securing a minimum of $1 billion in total funding.

The platform was launched by UAE and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on the sidelines of the 26th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – UNFCCC (COP26), in Glasgow, the United Kingdom. 

Through co-financing, ETAF will aim to mobilize an additional $2 billion in energy transition investments, targeting a total deployment of 1.5 GW of clean renewable energy generation and storage by 2030. 

IRENA will oversee ETAF from its Abu Dhabi headquarters, capitalizing on the UAE’s climate finance market and renewable energy innovation infrastructure. The new accelerator platform will help developing countries avoid financial risks and fund renewable energy projects.

The new UAE-IRENA collaboration to establish the ETAF platform builds on IRENA and ADFD’s long-term partnership, which includes seven cycles of the $350 million IRENA-ADFD Project Facility. The facility has financed 26 projects in Asia, Africa, and Latin America between 2013 and 2020, including Small Island Developing States.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al JaberMinister of Industry