South Pole partners with ACWA Power to accelerate climate finance for adaptation and mitigation projects in MENA region
Engaging the private sector at the frontier of climate finance will be key in getting crucial climate adaptation and mitigation projects off the ground as economies around the globe continue to unlock from fossil fuels. Few places illustrate this rapid transition to renewables better than the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
It is against this backdrop that sustainability solutions provider South Pole has partnered with ACWA Power, a private developer, owner and operator of power generation and desalination water plants, to drive private sector capital into climate projects.
Currently an Accredited Observer Entity to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), ACWA Power is, with the help of South Pole, working towards full accreditation. The key objective is to use the Fund's financial instruments to leverage private sector capital for climate change mitigation and adaptation activities, especially in the MENA region, to drive down the cost of renewable energy technologies below coal, making them more affordable for local consumers at the same time creating numerous sustainable development benefits (access to clean energy and water, improved air quality, new jobs, women empowerment and many more). This will help developing countries in their transition to low emission, climate resilient and sustainable development pathways.
"Sustainability and reducing climate change impacts is an integral part to delivering ACWA Power's strategy and is a driving force behind our business achievements," says David Ungar, Executive Director for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation & Sustainability, ACWA Power. "The GCF accreditation would allow us to facilitate, wherever we can, a more active engagement of the developing countries, particularly in MENA, in the global climate change abatement efforts."
"Driving the transition to a low-carbon economy through results-based collaborations is in our DNA," says Ingo Puhl, Co-Founder, Director Strategy, South Pole. "We are excited to put our advisory expertise to use for ACWA Power and help facilitate access to climate finance."
The two organisations recently took part in the GCF's Board Meeting to participate, to the extent possible, in the Fund's ongoing activities and promote first-hand information, knowledge and the latest updates on climate projects in the MENA region.
For more information, please contact
Yulia Dobrolyubova, Senior Consultant, South Pole, at y.dobrolyubova@southpole.com
Jon Barber, Director Corporate Communications, ACWA Power, at JBarber@acwapower.com
