UAE Prepares to Announce $30 Billion Climate Financing Fund at COP28

Three sources announced that the UAE is preparing to unveil a new investment fund focused on climate with a value of $30 billion at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), backed by some of the world's largest investors, including BlackRock. The sources indicated that the UAE will contribute the bulk of the funds and that private equity firm TPG and Brookfield Infrastructure will also participate. Two sources stated that the funds would be overseen by Lunait Capital, an investment firm backed by the UAE. The Financial Times reported this news earlier on Thursday. One source mentioned that Lunait Capital will seek to raise and deploy additional capital in climate-related investments. A second source noted that BlackRock, TPG, and Brookfield would allocate existing funds from other vehicles to transfer to the UAE fund, and discussions about the fund began after the summer and continued until October. BlackRock, Brookfield, and TPG declined to comment. Lunait Capital could not be reached for immediate comment. A spokesperson for the presidency of COP28 also could not be contacted for immediate comment. As the host country of COP28 in Dubai, which commenced on Thursday, the UAE has faced criticism for its plans to increase oil and gas production while the world strives to curb carbon emissions from fossil fuels that harm the climate. In this context, the UAE is keen to promote financing and businesses more broadly to allocate larger funds to tackle climate change and is expected to provide significant funding throughout the two-week event.