LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Four development banks will jointly facilitate up to $50 billion over the next five years to back climate goals in the Americas, U.S. officials said, as President Joe Biden is set to pitch clean energy plans at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.
The United States will also seek funding from the private sector and other sources to boost such projects, the officials said ahead of Thursday’s announcement that comes as Biden moves to underline renewed U.S. commitment to Latin America.
“The U.S. is enhancing coordination with these institutions to mobilize additional financing,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters during the summit this week.
The lenders agreeing to back the climate goals are the Inter-American Development Bank, the CAF Development Bank of Latin America, the Development Bank of Latin America, the Caribbean Development Bank and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration.
The United States additionally plans to spend $12 million on programs in Brazil, Colombia and Peru to reduce deforestation, while launching a partnership with Caribbean countries led by Vice President Kamala Harris, the officials said.
The 15 nations in the existing Renewable Energy for Latin America and the Caribbean (RELAC) initiative, which aim to reach a 70% installed capacity target for renewable energy generation by 2030, will be joined by several other countries.
Barbados, Jamaica and Guyana are set to become members of RELAC, while Argentina and Brazil will announce plans to support the initiative’s 70% goal, a U.S. official said.
(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by William Mallard)
