OPEC Fund makes US$1 billion pledge to fight desertification

The OPEC Fund announced a US$1 billion pledge in support of the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership at the COP16 conference in December. President Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: “Together, we can turn the challenges of desertification into opportunities for resilience and growth.” 

The partnership was initiated by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as host of the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The compact will leverage public and private finance to support 80 of the most vulnerable and drought-hit countries around the world. 

Additional pledges were made by the Islamic Development Bank (US$1 billion) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (US$250 million). The Arab Coordination Group (ACG) announced a US$10 billion OPEC Fund makes US$1 billion pledge to fight desertification commitment to the goals of COP16. The Riyadh Partnership will source additional funding to help least developed countries and lower middle-income countries unlock access to financing through various financial instruments including concessional loans, commercial loans and equity participation. 

The OPEC Fund was present at COP16 with its own pavilion and hosted a series of events. It also launched its first Clean Cooking Report. The paper offers an in-depth examination of an issue that affects about two billion people worldwide who are exposed to the harmful effects of using traditional fossil fuels for their daily cooking. It weighs up a range of approaches and gives detailed insights into the OPEC Fund’s strategy. “Clean cooking fits well with our objectives and focus areas as well as our Climate Action Plan,” President Alkhalifa said.