NEW YORK, Sep 25 (IN): Pakistan has been selected among the first five pilot countries for the COP31 Presidency’s new Climate Implementation Bridge (BRIDGE) initiative, aimed at helping developing countries turn climate commitments into investment-ready projects and mobilize international financing.The COP31 Presidency announced Ethiopia, Fiji, Indonesia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as the initial pilot countries during New York Climate Week, ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) scheduled for November in Antalya, Türkiye.
Implemented in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), BRIDGE seeks to close the gap between countries’ climate ambitions and the financing needed to implement them by developing bankable project pipelines and strengthening national capacity.For Pakistan, which faces growing risks from floods, droughts, heatwaves and water stress, the initiative could help connect climate and development priorities with international financing opportunities.Under the initiative, pilot countries will develop country-led pathways linking climate finance with investment-ready projects and national development targets. Lessons from the pilot phase will subsequently support expansion of the initiative to other developing countries, including Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries.
The COP31 Presidency said BRIDGE would also focus on identifying implementation bottlenecks, improving investment readiness and strengthening access to existing international climate finance mechanisms.Separately, the COP31 Presidency launched the Sustainable Urban Resilience Financing Facility (SURFF) in partnership with ILBANK, UN-Habitat and the World Bank to address gaps in urban climate finance in low- and middle-income countries.
Türkiye’s Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum stressed the importance of adequate financing, saying, “Climate ambition without finance is like an EV without a battery – it won’t go anywhere.”The initiatives form part of the COP31 Presidency’s broader Action Agenda aimed at accelerating implementation of climate commitments ahead of the Antalya summit in November.
