This page is part of the E3G Public Bank Climate Tracker Matrix, our tool to help you assess the Paris alignment of public banks, MDBs and DFIs.
| Paris Alignment | Reasoning |
| Not applicable | AIIB does not provide technical assistance, but recognises the role of TA in the energy sector. |
| Climate-related technical assistance at policy-level | NDC ambition increase goal? | Non-NDC technical assistance |
| Environmental assistance is conducted for due diligence, but no specific climate assistance is offered. | Bank does not seek NDC ambition from members. | Recognition of role of technical assistance in energy sector. |
Explanation
As an institution, AIIB is focused on infrastructure finance, and as a result has placed less of an emphasis on technical assistance at policy level, country engagement and National Determined Contributions (NDCs) support activities. With over 300 members of staff, AIIB has been constrained in the technical assistance that it can provide and has instead focused on the project level advisory work where AIIB provides environmental technical assistance as part of project due diligence and makes grants available for technical feasibility studies. The Bank believes that this support is more in line with its specific mandate, as opposed to the mandates of other peer institutions.
Given the pressing need for country-level policy reforms to deliver both the Paris Agreement and the sustainable infrastructure agenda, the AIIB has recognised that there is a role for more policy-oriented technical assistance as part of its sectoral analysis, specifically for its Energy Sector Strategy. As a lesson learned, AIIB concluded that “addressing institutional issues requires extensive policy analysis and dialogue, and the ability to provide technical assistance, often on concessional terms.”
In addition to this, the Bank has established a multi-donor facility – the Special Fund – to increase project preparation and bankability, particularly in lower income member countries. Amongst other elements, technical assistance and assessment can be accessed through this fund.
Based on this lesson, it will be interesting to see if AIIB offers more policy-focused technical assistance across energy and other sectors in the coming months and years, in order to meet mitigation and adaptation infrastructure needs. AIIB should use its position as host and trustee to the Multilateral Centre on Development Finance in China in order to help provide technical assistance for country policies that enhance NDCs or build the project pipeline for zero-carbon and resilience-enhancing infrastructure.
Recommendation: AIIB should consider enhancing its capacities to provide technical assistance, especially in the fields related to climate and energy.
Recommendation: AIIB should seek to engage further in policy-based technical assistance to unlock the infrastructure pipeline for mitigation and adaptation, partnering with others such as the World Bank’s NDC Partnership or ADB’s NDC Advance Platform.
Last Update: November 2020