MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Developing countries will access new climate funding and finance tools to address climate change, thanks to a Finance Strategy launched by the NDC Partnership in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

The Most Honourable Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica, launched the new Strategy with NDC Partnership Co-Chairs, Senator the Honourable Matthew Samuda of Jamaica, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, and The Right Honourable Alok Sharma of the United Kingdom, COP President and Member of Parliament, to support developing countries implement their climate commitments.

The Finance Strategy targets money and support for developing countries, harnessing a unique cooperation model to drive sustainable national, regional and international transformation.

The Strategy will:

• Strengthen country capacity, deploying specialist advisors to sectoral ministries and national development banks,
• Guide countries developing NDC financing strategies with Development and Implementing Partners to align NDCs with wider development plans, and
• Facilitate private sector buy-in on financing strategies to enable the implementation of NDCs.

The new Finance Strategy builds upon the Partnership's recent work, which has seen USD1 billion mobilized to support developing countries' climate action. Yet, much more is needed. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change, warns that we are not on track to meet the 1.5°C target above pre-industrial levels established in the Paris Agreement.

Following COP26, countries have shifted their focus to implementation of climate commitments, but climate action requires unprecedented speed and scale. In its World Energy Transition Outlook, NDC Partnership Member, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates USD51 trillion is needed in cumulative energy investments alone to achieve the 1.5°C scenario (2021-30).

"As a small island developing state, the 1.5-degree goal of the Paris Agreement is not an abstract target but a matter of survival," said Prime Minister Holness. "That is why the development and launch of the NDC Partnership's Finance Strategy is so important and timely."

"The Partnership's Finance Strategy provides a strong signal to members and global leaders that raised ambition in developing countries must be urgently matched with large-scale, predictable and timely financing," added Minister Samuda.

COP President Alok Sharma added: "At COP26 we made significant progress, but now is the time to turn commitments into action. The Partnership has shown that by combining countries' leadership with a coordinated response from international partners, technical and financial support can be mobilized effectively."

About the NDC Partnership

The NDC Partnership brings together more than 200 members - including 115 countries, developed and developing, and 80 institutions - to deliver ambitious climate action that helps achieve the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Governments identify their NDC implementation priorities and the support needed to produce actionable policies and programs. This informs a tailored package of expertise, technical assistance, and funding, for members.