Climate finance from the multilateral climate funds in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is largely concentrated in a small number of large projects in the form of loans or concessional loans, funded by the Clean Technology Fund (CTF). The total amount of finance approved between 2003 and 2020 is USD 1.5 billion for 139 projects. This money has largely gone towards mitigation efforts despite pressing adaptation needs in the region, especially for water conservation and food security measures. Of the total funding approved for the region, USD 560 million has taken the form of grants. Adaptation projects have all been supported by grants. USD 964 million has been provided in the form of loans or concessional loans for just a few large-scale energy infrastructure projects approved by the CTF and Green Climate Fund (GCF). The top two recipients – Egypt and Morocco – respectively have received 29% and 19% of total approved climate finance in the region, while four of the countries in the region have received no climate finance from the funds monitored by Climate Funds Update (CFU). Approved finance grew by USD 88 million in 2020.
