On May 22, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) established the Facility for Accelerating Climate Change rEsilient and Sustainable Society (ACCESS), a loan facility of up to US$1.5 billion as part of its overseas investment and financing initiatives. Society (ACCESS), a loan facility of up to US$1.5 billion as part of its overseas investment and financing initiatives.
This facility was established as one of Japan’s contribution initiatives in light of Prime Minister Kishida’s announcement on May 20, 2023 at a side event on the G7 Global Infrastructure Investment Partnership (PGII: Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment) that Japan would contribute to the sustainable development of partner countries through public and private infrastructure investment. This facility was established as one of Japan’s contribution initiatives in light of Prime Minister Kishida’s announcement on May 20, 2023 at a side event on the G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) that Japan would contribute to the sustainable development of partner countries through public and private infrastructure investment.
Background of the establishment of the Facility
In 2015, the international community adopted the Paris Agreement, which states that efforts should be made to keep the temperature increase lower than 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to limit it to 1.5°C. It has also been confirmed that this “1.5°C target” will be pursued at COP26 (26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in November 2021.
On the other hand, bilateral public financial support by developed countries has not reached the scale required by developing countries, and the private sector is becoming the global mainstream in commercialization, especially in the renewable energy sector. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the private sector financed 86% of the investment in renewable energy between 2013 and 2018, and it is expected that the private sector will continue to be responsible for much of the financing required to achieve the 1.5°C target. The private sector will continue to be responsible for much of the financing needed to achieve the 1.5°C target.
Facility Summary
The program aims to provide rapid financing for the following projects within the scope of the loan facility.
(1) Infrastructure projects that contribute to climate change mitigation (renewable energy, afforestation, EV projects, etc.) and adaptation (agriculture, water and sewage, etc.)
(ii) Small- and medium-scale climate change projects through loans to financial institutions
(iii) Climate change action projects by private companies promoting climate change action
Total amount of facilities (lines of credit): up to US$1.5 billion
Financing conditions: Normal financing conditions for overseas investments and loans are applied.
Co-financing: Co-financing with international development finance institutions, bilateral development finance institutions, or private banks in G7 developed countries with strong track records is assumed.
Implementation period: 5 years from the establishment of the Facility
The Facility will contribute to the achievement of SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) Goal 13 “Take concrete action on climate change” as well as many other goals of the SDGs through specific initiatives for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Facility, which promotes climate change action projects through the private sector, is an initiative based on JICA Global Agenda No. 16 “Climate Change,” and will also contribute to the doubling of climate change action support and GHG emission reductions to around 1 trillion yen annually as stated in the “JICA Sustainability Report. The project will also contribute to doubling the amount of GHG emission reductions.
JICA, in collaboration with other development finance institutions and the private sector, will support climate change measures by private companies in developing countries to achieve JICA’s mission of human security and quality growth.
© Source JICA