The Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and twelve European development finance institutions (EDFI) ⁽¹⁾ signed, in Bruges, Belgium, on 7 May, a memorandum of understanding establishing a co-financing facility called Interact Climate Change Fund (ICCF) for climate change projects in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP), Asian and Latin American countries.

The aim of the ICCF is to attract private investment by putting together an initial joint pot of money. The initial sum comes to €250 million (AFD: €100 million, EIB: €50 million - from the Cotonou Investment Facility - and EDFI: €100 million). Signatories of the agreement want to demonstrate the financial attractiveness of climate-friendly projects to private sector investors in developing countries and emerging markets and the potential for the economic development of ‘green’ technologies.

Investments eligible for co-financing from the ICCF come in five categories: 1. production of renewable energies; 2. production of equipment for the production of renewable energies; 3. all kinds of investment for energy efficiency and for the production of energy efficiency-related components; 4. transport projects designed to reduce road and air traffic so that their estimated greenhouse gas emissions will be less than the emissions that are traditionally attributed to these sectors or by comparison with a comparable reference scenario; and 5. capture and long-term storage of carbon or other greenhouse gases.