At COP28, multilateral development banks (MDBs), including the African Development Bank, agreed to develop a common approach for measuring and reporting climate results. Historically, MDBs have jointly reported climate finance volumes, but this has not fully captured the tangible impacts of these interventions. The new agreement aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the outcomes of climate investments, enhancing learning and identifying areas needing additional support.
The common approach adopted by MDBs ensures transparency, consistency and comparability across institutions and contributes to global efforts to establish standardized frameworks for assessing climate progress. It represents a significant advancement in the way climate finance impacts are measured, reported, and utilized to drive effective climate action worldwide.
The new framework is structured into three levels:
- Global and Country Context: This level integrates the latest climate science and sets the context for urgent action, referencing global greenhouse gas emissions and the vulnerability of populations to climate risks.
- Results from Operations: This level evaluates the contributions of MDBs to equitable, low-carbon, and climate-resilient development by tracking emissions from financing operations for mitigation and identifying beneficiaries of resilience-enhancing interventions.
- Institutional Efforts: This level monitors the financial resources and technical assistance used by MDBs to implement climate interventions.
This Common Approach is not a new reporting mechanism; it is a tool to enhance harmonized reporting on climate outcomes across MDBs and other stakeholders. While MDBs already report on climate outcomes, this unified approach offers significant benefits, including improved data aggregation, comparability, and learning opportunities.
MDBs will continue refining this approach, working together to develop a set of common indicators. These indicators will track mitigation efforts by monitoring emissions from financing operations and, where possible, measure the beneficiaries of interventions aimed at enhancing climate resilience. Progress on these developments will be reported at future climate conferences.
Prof. Anthony Nyong, Director of Climate Change and Green Growth at the African Development Bank, emphasized the significance of this milestone: "This approach allows us to see what we are actually achieving in the countries we support and where there are gaps that need addressing. It will help inform and refine MDB interventions, ensuring that our efforts are as effective and impactful as possible."
By adopting this unified approach to measure climate results, MDBs are taking a crucial step towards more transparent, accountable, and impactful climate action. This alignment with global climate goals ensures that their interventions deliver meaningful results on the ground. The collaborative efforts of MDBs in developing and refining this approach highlight a commitment to continuous improvement and responsiveness to the evolving challenges posed by climate change.
As MDBs implement this common approach, they will not only enhance their own operations but also contribute to the broader international effort to combat climate change.
