UAE aims for COP28 finance splash with $30 billion climate fund

First, $25 billion will be deployed at Alterra Acceleration and will steer institutional capital toward climate investments at scale.

The UAE said Alterra aims to mobilize $250 billion by the end of the decade. BlackRock Inc., Brookfield and TPG will be inaugural launch partners for Alterra. The group has committed $6.5 billion to climate-dedicated funds for global investment, including in the developing world. Some of that cash is already earmarked for renewable projects in India.

A sufficient flow of finance is essential if the world is going to come anywhere close to reaching the goals laid down in the Paris Agreement and increasing amount of cash available to poorer nations is high on the agenda at the talks in Dubai. Sultan Al Jaber, president of COP28, said the announcement would have a material impact.

“Its scale and structure will create a multiplier effect in climate focused investment, making it a vehicle like no other,” he said in a statement. He will also chair Alterra’s board.

Alterra’s $30 billion will be split into two parts. First, $25 billion will be deployed at Alterra Acceleration and will steer institutional capital toward climate investments at scale. Alterra Transformation will get $5 billion to be deployed as risk mitigation capital to incentivize investment flows into the Global South.

Alterra will be managed by Lunate, an independent global investment manager domiciled in the Abu Dhabi Global Market. Majid Al Suwaidi, an Emirati diplomat who’s currently COP28 director-general, will serve as chief executive officer.