The Green Climate Fund has signed an agreement with the China Development Bank (CDB), the world’s largest development financial institution, to coordinate their activities in promoting climate action.

While the agreement – signed recently by GCF Executive Director Howard Bamsey and CDB Vice President Zhang Xuguang – is not legally-binding, it signals the intention of both organisations to cooperate in identifying opportunities to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change in China and other developing countries.

Established in 1994, CDB is the largest Chinese bank for foreign investment and financing cooperation, long-term lending and bond issuance. In addition to alleviating poverty and other developmental goals, the bank has focused on pioneering green credit business in China and supporting energy efficiency and environmentally-sustainable industrial development.

With five representative offices in Cairo, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, Caracas and London, the state-owned and funded bank is a major contributor of loans to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.