The Arab Coordination Group (ACG), a strategic alliance of ten leading development finance institutions, announced a landmark commitment of up to US$10 billion by 2030 to address the critical challenges of land degradation, desertification and drought.
The Arab Coordination Group (ACG), an alliance of development finance institutions was established in 1975 and is comprised of ten entities including the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Arab Gulf Programme for Development, the Arab Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the OPEC Fund for International Development, the Qatar Fund for Development and the Saudi Fund for Development.
ACG is the second-largest grouping of development finance institutes in the world and since its founding has provided more than 12,000 development loans to over 160 countries around the globe.
At the Ministerial Dialogue on Finance titled “Unlocking public and private finance for land restoration and drought resilience” at the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) taking place in Riyadh, the ACG announced a commitment of up to $10 billion by 2030 to tackle the urgent issues of land degradation, desertification, and drought.
Economy Middle East reports that the commitment, “aims to propel efforts in land restoration, boost climate resilience, and encourage nature-positive development in vulnerable regions. Moreover, members of the ACG will utilize innovative financing tools, mobilize resources, and enhance partnerships to promote sustainable land management, biodiversity conservation, and food security, with a particular focus on the Middle East, North Africa, and the Sahel.”
The Group’s new pledge builds on (and will be primarily sourced from) its US$50 billion pledge made in Riyadh in November 2023 to help build resilient infrastructure and inclusive societies in the African continent, its US$24 billion pledge for climate finance made at COP 27 in November 2022, and its US$10 billion for Food Security Action Package announced in June 2022.
According to the UN, droughts have surged by nearly 30 per cent in frequency and intensity since 2000, threatening agriculture and water security, while up to 40 per cent of the world’s land is degraded, which means its biological or economic productivity has been reduced. The global economy could lose $23 trillion by 2050 through degradation UNCCD has warned, while halting this trend would cost around $4.6 trillion, a fraction of the predicted losses.
The event in Riyadh is the first time the UN’s Convention to Combat Desertification Congress of the Parties (Cop) is being held in the Middle East.
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