The Climate Bankers: Inside MDBs’ Role in the Net-Zero Race

Multilateral development banks (MDBs) are now the backbone of global climate finance.
In 2024, they collectively delivered $137 billion, the highest level ever recorded, to help countries cut emissions and build resilience.

That figure, published in the joint MDB climate finance report coordinated by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in April 2025, represents a 10 percent rise over 2023. Private capital mobilised alongside MDB investments reached another $134 billion, up 33%  year-on-year.
Together, the two flows bring nearly $270 billion into climate-related projects worldwide.

“MDBs are ramping up their climate action efforts,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. “As the Climate Bank, the EIB Group will step up its support for the clean-energy transition and climate-adaptation efforts.”

 

A Record Year for Climate Finance

According to the 2024 MDB report (EIB Press Release, April 2025), the $137 billion total breaks down as follows:

• Low- and middle-income economies: $85.1 billion (+14 % vs 2023)
• High-income economies: $51.5 billion
• Mitigation projects: 69 % ($58.8 billion in developing economies)
• Adaptation projects: 31 % ($26.3 billion in developing economies)

Private-sector mobilisation surged as well: $134 billion was catalysed by MDB participation, $33 billion in emerging markets and $101 billion in advanced ones.

The EIB contributed $43 billion within Europe and neighbouring markets, plus $4.5 billion through its development arm, EIB Global.
Other top contributors included the World Bank Group, Asian Development Bank (ADB), African Development Bank (AfDB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

 💡MDBs have doubled their climate financing to low- and middle-income countries in just five years.

 

Why MDBs Matter

MDBs occupy a unique position:

• They combine development and climate mandates.
• They can absorb risk, offer guarantees, and mobilise private capital.
• They provide technical assistance and policy advice.
• They have the scale and credibility to convene both governments and investors.

EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso summed up the challenge, saying, “The bulk of the capital needs to come from the private sector. Public money must be catalytic.”

World Bank President Ajay Banga has pushed a similar message since taking office in 2023: “We will deploy equal resources for mitigation and adaptation. Every dollar must drive both growth and resilience.”

 

Institution Highlights

World Bank and IFC: The World Bank aims to direct 45 % of its annual financing to climate by 2025, up from 35 %. That would exceed $40 billion per year for clean energy, adaptation, and resilience projects. The IFC, its private-sector arm, is scaling blended-finance programs to make climate projects bankable.

Asian Development Bank (ADB): ADB committed $9.8 billion to climate in 2023 and plans to dedicate half of all lending to climate by 2030. Capital-management reforms completed in 2023 will unlock an extra $100 billion for lending over the next decade.

“ADB continued to step up as the climate bank for Asia and the Pacific,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa.

African Development Bank (AfDB): In 2023, the AfDB directed 55 % of its approvals to climate finance far above its 40 % target.
President Akinwumi Adesina warns that adaptation remains the continent’s greatest gap:

“Africa receives $30 billion a year for adaptation but needs $277 billion. The numbers don’t add up.”

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD): All new EBRD operations are now Paris-aligned, and the bank consistently allocates over 50 % of its investment to green projects. It also attracted $26.7 billion of private investment alongside its own 2023 commitments.

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): IDB delivered $7.5 billion in climate finance in 2023 and plans to triple that by 2033. President Ilan Goldfajn says the region must link climate action to social inclusion and economic competitiveness.

BNDES (Brazil): Brazil’s development bank manages a new R$10.4 billion (≈ $2 billion) Climate Fund, financing renewable energy, reforestation, and sustainable agriculture.
President Aloizio Mercadante called it “one of the largest climate funds in the world.”

Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and Regional Partners: IsDB has pledged 35 % of all financing to climate by 2025 and has already reached 33 %. It has issued $5 billion in Green and Sustainable Sukuk to fund renewable-energy and adaptation projects across 57 member countries.

💡 BNDES is now the leading financier of renewable energy globally, ahead of many MDBs.

 

Mitigation, Adaptation and Balance

In 2024:

• Developing economies: 69 % mitigation ($58.8 billion) | 31 % adaptation ($26.3 billion)
• High-income economies: 90 % mitigation | 10 % adaptation ($5 billion)

MDBs are testing new tools to close the adaptation gap.
At COP28, a coalition of MDBs launched climate-resilient debt clauses, letting disaster-hit countries pause repayments to free cash for recovery.
The AfDB and World Bank are embedding resilience metrics into country programs, while IsDB and CAF focus on water security and agriculture.

💡 Adaptation’s share is growing, up from 25 % five years ago to 31 % today, but still short of the need.

 

The Power of Private Capital

Development banks increasingly act as catalysts. Every dollar they invest attracts multiple private dollars through risk-sharing and guarantees. The EBRD alone leveraged about €10 billion in climate-related private finance in 2022, rising further in 2023 and 2024.
ADB mobilised $16.4 billion in co-financing in 2023 and is building public-private partnerships across renewable energy and urban transport.

World Bank President Banga has pushed the Private Sector Investment Lab, created in 2023, to bring institutional investors into emerging-market climate deals.
He calls it “the missing bridge between public ambition and private execution.”

Regional players are joining in. The Arab Coordination Group, led by IsDB, announced a $24 billion package for climate action over eight years, combining sovereign and private finance.

💡 MDBs mobilised $134 billion in private climate finance in 2024, a 33 % jump from 2023.

 

Challenges

Despite progress, several constraints remain:

• Adaptation is underfunded, especially in Africa and Small Island States.
• Project approval delays due to bureaucracy.
• Limited risk appetite in fragile markets.
• Capital constraints restrict MDB lending without reform.
• Debt stress in recipient countries limits new borrowing.
• Impact measurement gaps make tracking results uneven.

Adesina at AfDB warned: “If Africa continues to face climate shocks without financing, development gains will be wiped out.”

 

Reform and Collaboration

In April 2024, 10 MDB presidents signed a joint agreement to coordinate climate action, harmonise data methods, and support country platforms that blend public and private finance.
They also committed to a shared digital portal launching in 2025 to track MDB climate investments in real time.

ADB and World Bank reforms free up capital: ADB’s restructuring alone creates $100 billion in extra lending headroom.
EBRD and EIB are refining balance-sheet optimisation to stretch existing equity.
All major MDBs are now Paris Agreement aligned, ensuring their investments fit countries’ net-zero and resilience goals.

💡By 2024, all 10 MDBs reported full Paris alignment for new operations.

Innovative instruments are multiplying, green and blue bonds, resilience bonds, sustainability-linked loans, and debt-for-climate swaps.

 

The Action Plan for the Future

At COP29 (late 2024), MDBs pledged to deliver $120 billion annually for climate projects in developing countries, including $42 billion for adaptation and mobilise another $65 billion from private investors.
High-income economies would receive a further $50 billion per year in MDB climate funding, plus $65 billion in mobilised private capital.

Global net-zero pathways require around $4 trillion per year in new investment this decade far beyond today’s volumes.
MDBs can’t close that alone, but they can multiply impact by reforming faster, working closer with local banks, and linking finance to policy reform.

As Fayolle of EIB noted, “The numbers are encouraging, but scale and speed must increase dramatically to meet global climate goals.”

 

Key Takeaways

• Record $137 billion MDB climate finance in 2024.
• $134 billion mobilised private co-investment.
• $85.1 billion to developing economies (69 % mitigation | 31 % adaptation).
• 10 MDBs are fully Paris-aligned and coordinating more closely than ever.
• Adaptation gains momentum but remains the weak link.

 

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