Policy Updates

On July 28, 2023, the EU announced EUR466 million (US$516 million) in funding for the Philippines under the Global Gateway initiative.

The funding was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a meeting in Manila with President Ferdinand Marcos. Von der Leyen stated that the funding would support the development of circular economic policy to manage plastic waste in oceans. In addition to policy development, the funding also targeted technology and knowledge transfers to support implementation.

Of the total Team Europe contribution, EUR64 million (US$71 million) was allocated from the EU budget. The remaining EUR402 million (US$445 million) comprised contributions from individual member states, including France, Germany, Spain, and Finland.

On July 25, 2023, at the UN Conference on Global Food Systems in Rome, Italy, BMZ State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth called for advancements in climate-adapted local agriculture to reduce reliance on volatile world food markets and counter Russia's use of wheat blockades as a weapon in the war against Ukraine.

Flasbarth emphasized the importance of achieving lasting structural changes. He called for the end of slow, reactionary crisis solutions and urged policymakers to reduce dependencies on global wheat and fertilizer markets and promote local, climate-adapted farming in partner countries. The conference intended to reduce the impact of future food crises by tackling intersectional issues such as hunger, inequality, climate change, and biodiversity loss.

Flasbarth announced a collaboration with the WFP on a five-year program worth EUR22 million (US$25 million) for sustainable and inclusive school feeding. The BMZ announced an additional EUR5 million (US$6 million) in 2023 to the newly established financing window for the transformation of food systems under the UN Joint SDG Fund.

The 2023 summit was billed as a "Stocktaking Moment" following the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, which called for collective action to achieve all 17 SDGs through the transformation of food systems. The 2023 summit provided member states and stakeholders the opportunity to report on their activities and identify new solutions to further the transformation of agricultural and food systems.

The parliamentary state secretaries at the BMZ and BMUV attended the UN's High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York from July 16 to 20, 2023.

The official German event at the 2023 HLPF focused on the intersection between sustainable urban development and water and sanitation, with an emphasis on increasingly common water shortages in growing cities in LMICs caused by the climate crisis. The state secretary at the BMZ presented the BMZ's new position paper on sustainable urban development.

Specifically, the BMZ stated its support partner countries in developing cities in a sustainable, climate-neutral, and livable way. The paper highlighted an inclusive approach to urban development for all demographics, particularly women and girls.

Areas of the BMZ's engagement included good governance, access to finance, and assistance in the sectors of housing and construction, waste, mobility, water, and public spaces.

The HLPF built political momentum for the SDG summit during the UN General Assembly on September 18-19, 2023. The meeting marked the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which began in 2015.

On July 12, 2023, the BMZ presented its position paper on strengthening regional cooperation with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The position paper outlined three primary goals:

1. Ensuring a fair transition to a climate-neutral economy by promoting renewable energy, particularly through climate and development partnerships, creating employment and education opportunities, and ensuring social protection;
2. Fostering good governance, peace, and democracy, particularly through supporting human rights protection, combating corruption, promoting governance standards, countering armed conflicts, and supporting refugees and internally displaced persons; and
3. Implementing a feminist development policy by promoting access to rights, resources, and economic participation, particularly for women, girls, LGBTQ+ persons, and marginalized groups such as indigenous communities, as well as strengthening feminist initiatives in politics and civil society.

Specifically, the paper described cooperation with six partner countries:

• Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia were listed as bilateral partner countries with whom the BMZ pursues long-term development goals; and
• Brazil, Mexico, and Peru were classified as Global Partners, with whom the BMZ seeks to develop joint solutions to global challenges such as the climate crisis.

The paper also described more general BMZ collaboration with all countries in the region on regional, global, and multilateral projects, as well as non-governmental development cooperation initiatives.

At the Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, the EU announced several pledges and partnerships to support partner countries in adapting to climate change.

In partnership with France, Germany, the UK, and Canada, the EU launched a new Just Energy Transition Partnership with Senegal. With the help of international development banks and other partners, the group aimed to mobilize EUR2.5 billion (US$2.7 billion) to diversify Senegal's power supply and increase domestic access to renewable energy.

The EU, via the Team Europe initative also provided an additional EUR300 million (US$328 million) to Rwanda's Resilience and Sustainability Facility. Building on existing commitments of US$319 million made through the IMF, the funding included commitments from the EIB, AFD, IDC, and other partners. The funding was allocated to projects to bolster the capacity to author and enact policy changes to respond to climate change.

Additionally, the EIB announced an EUR10 million (US$11 million) loan to Barbados for healthcare resilience. The pledge also included a commitment to improve partnership on WASH, renewable energy, and climate change.

German Chancellor Scholz was one of two G7 heads of state that attended the summit for a New Global Financing Pact held in Paris from June 22-23, 2023.

In his speech, he emphasized the relevance of global cooperation to reach climate change mitigation targets.

In particular, Scholz emphasized the so-called Climate Club, a cooperation between countries that want to press ahead with the social and economic transformation needed to tackle climate change, which Scholz initiated under the German G7 presidency in 2022.

In addition, he highlighted the Just Energy Transition Partnerships as a tool to foster international cooperation and support for LMICs mitigating climate change.

Scholz also recommitted to Germany's climate finance targets, though no new pledges were made.

On June 22, 2023, on the sidelines of the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris, the UK, along with other key donors of the International Partnership Group agreed to provide EUR2.5 billion (US$3.2 billion) to support a Just Energy Transition Partnership with Senegal.

In addition to sovereign donors, including France, Germany, the EU, and Canada, the pledge befitted from the support of several multilateral development banks.

In the joint declaration, Senegal committed to strengthening its deployment of renewable energies as part of its Integrated Low-Cost Electricity Plan, aiming to reduce emissions and expand access. The funding will be provided over a three- to five-year period.

On the sidelines of the Summit for a New Financial Pact in Paris on June 22-23, 2023, Germany, together with France, the UK, EU, and Canada, signed an Energy Transition Partnership with Senegal worth US$2.7 billion.

The partnership aimed to support Senegal in expanding its share of renewable energies from current levels of 30% to 40% by 2030. It also included plans to release an investment strategy within twelve months of the signing.

The BMZ indicated it will focus on supporting the modernization and rehabilitation of the grid infrastructure, the improvement of the data basis in the field of renewable energies, and the development of policies and strategies for the development of the sector.

The agreement with Senegal was the second of its kind for Germany on the African continent, the first being South Africa.

On June 21, 2023, the BMZ published a new position paper focused on tackling inequalities across and within countries through structural changes in economic, social, and ecological areas.

The position paper Less Inequality - More Opportunities for Sustainable Development set out how measures fostering equality can be integrated in cooperation with partner countries across the three dimensions:

• The economic dimension included, financial and fiscal policy for equitable distribution or promoting decent employment;
• Development and access to social security systems was named as an example within the social dimension; and
• The ecological dimension focused on climate adaptation and climate risk assessment and insurance.

On June 21, 2023, the G7+ Coordination Group established a clean energy partnership with Ukraine at a meeting in London.

In response to Russia's war against Ukraine, G7+ partners have continued to support Ukraine’s energy system with emergency finances in partnership with international organizations and private corporations. The G7+ Coordination Group confirmed its commitment to supporting Ukraine in building a cleaner energy system consistent with a Net Zero future. The so-called Clean Energy Partnership was developed with five main goals:

• Accelerating the adoption of EU energy legislation and increasing integration with the EU market;
• Increasing low carbon energy sources;
• Implementing transition policies to phase out coal power;
• Upgrading energy infrastructure; and
• Attracting innovative technological and financial solutions.

The Government of Ukraine has committed to doing its part in realizing these progressive goals and will work closely with the G7+ to do so.