Arab Regional Finance Roundtable 2025

Financing climate solutions in developing countries is critical to a just transition, mitigation, adaptation and nature-based initiatives. The UN Climate Change High Level Champions launched the Regional Platforms for Climate Projects in 2022 to bring greater attention to financing climate and SDG solutions in the Global South. These platforms bring together UN Member States, project developers, public and private finance actors on specific climate projects and regionally relevant issues, with a strong focus on mobilizing capital, scaling solutions, and de-risking investments. The initiative has been supported publicly by the UN system and the COP27, COP28 and COP29 Presidencies.

Building on the successes of the 2022 Beirut and 2023 Dubai forums, this year's Arab regional finance roundtable, an initiative by the UN Climate Change High Level Champions, will foster public-private collaboration to help drive climate finance in the Arab region. Key takeaways from the roundtable will help provide input to the Baku-Belem Roadmap and COP30. The roundtable is kindly supported by the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI), the DIFC and the SLK Capital.

Serving as a precursor to COP30 in Brazil, the roundtable will bring together decision makers and practitioners from finance, sustainability and public policy to discuss the global stocktake on climate goals, address challenges and explore solutions to scaling climate investments in the Arab region, showcase regional climate project pipelines, share success stories, and help chart financial pathways for country climate plans.

1. Focus on Regionally Relevant Climate Finance Priorities & Global Stocktake: Take stock of lessons learned from past and ongoing climate finance initiatives in the Arab region, identifying successes, challenges, and opportunities for scaling investments.
2. Mobilizing and De-risking Climate Investments: Identify practical solutions to accelerate climate finance by showcasing high-impact projects, examining what makes them bankable, and exploring de-risking mechanisms (e.g., blended finance, guarantees, policy reforms) to attract private capital and enable large-scale climate projects.
3. Strengthening Public-Private Partnerships: Explore how MDBs, development banks, commercial banks, and private investors can collaborate more effectively to unlock capital and address investment risks.
4. Driving COP30 Outcomes: Ensure key insights and recommendations from the forum contribute to global discussions on climate finance, particularly in preparation for COP30 in Brazil in November 2025.