The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and The United Nations Climate Change High-Level Champions (Climate Champions) have launched a call for advanced-stage clean energy projects in the Western Balkans, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Eastern and Southeast Europe to be presented to public and private investors at an upcoming finance forum and showcased at COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Selected projects will initially be featured at 3rd European Regional Finance Forum on 9 October 2024, in Hamburg, Germany, a precursor event to COP29. Building on the momentum of previous editions, the forum is designed to enhance collaborations between public and private sector financiers and project developers focusing on the sustainable energy transition. It will gather industry leaders, regional development financial institutions, commercial lenders, sovereign wealth funds, private capital providers and philanthropies.
This initiative provides a chance to benefit from accelerated capacity-building, facilitating engagement with the broader climate finance ecosystem. The projects will receive support in preparing presentations to investors at COP29. Training in UNECE's PPP and Infrastructure Evaluation and Rating System (PIERS methodology) will also be offered for all selected projects, enhancing skills in transparency, accountability, and investor readiness.
Finance is an enabler of transition. Advancing climate project pipelines is essential to mobilizing capital. However, this requires more effective ecosystems and collaboration among policymakers, financiers, project developers and technical assistance providers. Among the priority projects from the region that were selected for COP28, four projects received partial funding for an average of approximately 55%.
The Forum will explore investment opportunities in clean energy, energy efficiency, waste-to-energy, industrial decarbonization, and sustainable transportation. Discussions will also focus on the pivotal role of critical raw materials (CRMs) such as lithium, nickel, copper, and rare earth elements in enabling low-carbon transitions and clean energy solutions.
For more details on the Forum and the invitation for expressions of interest by project sponsors, visit Climate Project Sponsors - Climate Champions (unfccc.int)
