NordenBladet — Nena Stoiljkovic, Vice President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which belongs to the World Bank Group, will visit Helsinki and Vaasa from 14 to 15 December in order to present the Climate Fund (Finland-IFC Blended Finance for Climate Program), which was set up by Finland and IFC in October. The aim of the visit is to give an outline of the Fund’s objectives and activities as well as to tell about the opportunities for cooperation that will open up for Finnish companies.
Finland will channel EUR 114 million into the Fund and is expected to mobilise investments worth a total of approximately EUR 500 million in renewable and clean energy solutions and other climate projects in developing countries.
“Asia and Africa will be critical for climate change. In the cooperation with IFC we intend to encourage more and more companies to invest in clean solutions in the poorest countries. The Finns can provide good solutions and I hope that Finnish companies will take advantage of the opportunities offered by the new Fund and transfer their expertise to poor developing countries,” Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen says.
Stoiljkovic will hold a keynote speech in two seminars related to the matter, one in Helsinki and one in Vaasa, and have bilateral meetings with representatives of central Finnish stakeholders. Stoiljkovic will visit Finland on the invitation of Minister Mykkänen.
The events in December will be open for the general public and people are encouraged to engage in a broad discussion on climate funding. Companies, civil society organisations and the public sector are expected to send their representatives to the events. Finland will channel a total of EUR 114 million into the Fund to be invested in projects during the next five years.
This will be the largest funding ever targeted at international climate work in Finland. Shortage of energy is a critical barrier to development for the poorest countries, and the need and consumption of energy are likely to grow rapidly in the future. The aim is that a major part of the needs arising from the growth would be met by means of low-emission energy. By means of thisinvestment decision, Finland supports both the Paris Agreement and the goals of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development (SDGs).
Source: Finland.ee
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