News - 04.12.2017

Luxembourg climate finance initiatives showcased at COP23

  • Sustainable Finance

The Luxembourg government and the European Investment Bank were present at the COP23 in Bonn with a joint pavilion, hosting various workshops and seminars over the two weeks of the COP on climate finance and climate projects by the EIB as well as by the Luxembourg government and financial services industry representatives.

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In this context, Luxembourg for Finance organised a high-level seminar on the financial centre’s role as an international platform for sustainable finance, in the presence of his Royal Highness, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg as well as Minister for the Environment, Carole Dieschbourg, and Minister of Finance, Pierre Gramegna.

The keynote speeches by Ministers Dieschbourg and Gramegna, not only served to highlight the country’s strong commitment to sustainable development at home and abroad, but also Luxembourg’s coherent strategy in the area of climate finance, bringing together both the environment and finance ministries as well as key stakeholders of the financial services industry in a national Climate Finance Task Force, with the aim to contribute in a meaningful way to the global fight against climate change.

The following panel discussion, featuring sustainable finance experts from Luxembourg, delved deeper into various initiatives that have come out of this work: the Luxembourg Green Exchange (link to LFF news on launch), dedicated climate finance and green bond labels (link to LFF news on this) as well as the International Climate Finance Accelerator (link to LFF news on this). Moreover, experts also provided insights into Luxembourg’s investment fund toolbox, and notably so-called layered funds which have proven particularly successful tools in leveraging private and public investments to raise finance for climate mitigation and adaptation projects.

During the COP, both ministers, together with EIB President Werner Hoyer and Vice-President Jonathan Tayler, presented the first transaction under the Climate Finance Platform jointly set up by the EIB and the Luxembourg government, another concrete outcome of the work of the Luxembourg Climate Finance Task Force.