The World Bank (WB) accelerates the deployment of two projects worth a total of 700 million USD to boost forest management and develop renewable energy in low income countries.

The 400 million USD Forest Investment Programme (FIP) and the 300 million USD project for the Scaling Up Renewable Energy in Low Income Countries (SREP), are funded under the Strategic Climate Fund, one of two funds set up as part of the WB’s 6 billion USD multi-stakeholder Climate Investment Funds (CIF).

Donors to the FIP and SREP include the United States , Japan , the United Kingdom , the Netherlands , Norway , Australia , Denmark and Switzerland .

All of the proposed CIF programs have now been given enough financial support to begins operations, said Katherine Sierra, WB Vice President for Sustainable Development.

The CIFs are a unique pair of financing instruments designed to support developing nations in initiating transformational change towards low-carbon and climate-resilient development, offering an unprecedented opportunity to scale up experiences and a growing knowledge base to act against climate change.

Both programmes operate through a governing mechanism with equal representation by contributor and recipient countries.

The FIP supports developing countries' efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation by financing investments to address such harmful effects.

Meanwhile, the SREP will help a small number of low income countries initiate energy sector transformation by helping them take renewable energy solutions to a national level./.