Results of the commitment of Multilateral Development Banks for sustainable transportation

Jointly, the members and the Working Group of the MDBs regarding Sustainable Transportation (MDB WGST) provided, in 2015, USD 23 billion in new funds for sustainable transportation projects, added to the USD 20 billion approved during the first year of the Commitment (2012), USD 25 billion approved in 2013, and USD 20 billion approved in 2014.  

The USD 23 billion in financing from the MDBs in 2015 consisted of more than 229 approvals, including: 

• 89 for highways
• 51 for urban transportation
• 16 for tracks
• 12 for airports
• 13 for maritime projects and inland navigation  
• 48 for other transportation projects

In addition, the MDBs approved more than 251 technical assistance (TA) projects to support the development of policies, research, and construction capacity. 

The MDBs are committed to supporting more sustainable transportation projects, and investments that are accessible, affordable, efficient, financially sustainable, respectful with the environment, and safe. Under a common framework for the presentation of reports, the institutions have continued to advance in the evaluation and measurement of the sustainability of transportation loans in economic, social, and environmental terms. 

In 2015, all the MDBs evaluated the sustainability of their respective annual transportation loans. The  BAsD and CAF used the Sustainability Evaluation Framework (STAR). BAD, BERD, BEI, the IDB and the Islamic Development Bank used a modified version of the STAR. The WB used its own internal methodology. 

The MDBs which used the STAR or modified STAR, used a common scale of four points to present the results of their sustainability evaluation. Although the results of the ratings are not totally comparable yet, the MDBs which used a modified STAR initiated steps to share the base of their modifications in order to reconcile the rating approaches in the future. The MDB WGST has also identified quantitative production indicators and results which may complement the sustainability evaluation.  

The production and results indicators are presented in the numbers of each MDB. This includes, among others, kilometers of constructed or improved roads, kilometers of constructed or improved railways, volume of loans invested in projects or activities recorded for climate financing (according to definition of joint MDB), and percentage of road projects with road safety and gender components.  The debates continue to coordinate the presentation of indicator reports, particularly regarding the volume of investments in transportation considered as climate financing which are not available for all MDBs yet.  

Global development has given rise to several important agreements carried out in 2015, all of them related to sustainable transportation. These include the conclusion of the 2030 Sustainable Development Program, the adoption of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and the Paris Agreement, which emerged from the 21st United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. There are also important commitments assumed in the Second World Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, which marked the middle point of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety. 

In addition to the Rio + 20 Commitment, climate financing is expanding for sustainable transportation. This will help face the challenge of global climate change. In 2015, close to USD 6.16 billion in financing for MDBs in the transportation sector supported activities related to adaptation to climate change and transportation projects with low carbon emissions in developing countries and emerging economies.  

Multilateral Development Banks will also continue to increase investments related to transportation that help achieve the SDGs, increase the use of pertinent indicators to improve their performance, and they will continue to be active partners in the promotion of transportation that is resistant to climate change and is low in carbon emissions. 

Download the complete report here.