Closing the funding gap for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is particularly critical in the Arab region, which currently stands as the world’s most water-scarce and food import dependent region. With temperatures rising faster than the global average, climate change has emerged as one of the most complex and important regional risks, exacerbating poverty and human insecurity.​

The Knowledge Platform provides financial institutions in the Arab region a one-stop platform to access information, data, and tools that can support them in their transition to more climate-aware business models. The platform also provides a channel for sustainable finance knowledge sharing and good practice case studies from banks in the region.​

Under the SDG-Climate Facility Project, this Platform aims at engaging key financial actors in the transformation of the Arab region’s financial system towards one that addresses SDG funding.

Development in the Arab region

How to finance the energy transition and mitigate climate change in the MENA region

Risks & Opportunities

Addaptation and transition risks and opportunities for financial institutions in the MENA region

Resources

Workshops, publications and studies for financial actors in the MENA region

The Arab Region and the SDGs

Most parts of the Arab region have been making significant inroads to near-universal access to energy, a key development goal. However, the region lacks sustainable resource management, particularly in the area of energy efficiency. The transition away from fossil fuels and towards modern energy sources occupies a central place in the global development agenda. SDG7 calls for ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, while SDG13 further commits all UN member countries to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.​

Due to the interconnectedness between climate change and critical issues such as water, food, gender equality, health care and education, affordable and clean energy for all is key to deliver on the other SDGs in the Arab region by 2030.

For more information:​​

About the SDG-Climate Facility Project

The SDG Climate Facility Project seeks to enhance the capacity of regional and national institutions to effectively integrate climate change into development and crisis prevention/recovery actions, including support to scale-up climate finance for innovative local solutions with co-benefits across SDGs.​

The project brings together multilateral institutions in the region such as the League of Arab States (LAS) and the Arab Water Council (AWC), and leading UN system partners active on climate actions in the region, including the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), the UN Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat), the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), and the World Food Programme (WFP) in collaboration with regional institutions, governments, the private sector, civil society, and academia.​

Together, partners and collaborating entities aspire to develop capacities for integrating climate change into development and crisis recovery programmes and policies, and scale up climate finance to support bottom-up solutions that build resilience to risks and strengthen adaptive capacities.​

For more information:​
  • The SDG-Climate Facility Project brochure in English or Arabic
  • The SDG-Climate Facility Project print style brochure in English or Arabic
Project partners: