Key milestone in scaling up private sector climate finance
Governments and international partners from the private sector come together in a clear step forward in tackling climate change.
Governments and international partners from the private sector have come together in London today in a clear step forward in tackling climate change.
During a two-day Clean Energy Finance Summit held on 3rd and 4th June, experts from across the international financial sector will work alongside Governments to consider new options for raising the private finance necessary to enable developing countries pursuing low-carbon development and tackle climate change.
Speaking on day two of the Summit, co-hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales, Energy and Climate Change Minister, Greg Barker said:
“The City of London is already a leading global centre for green finance – supporting UK jobs and growth as part of our long-term economic plan.
“By bringing together governments and international private sector partners at the Summit, we can now go even further to mobilise investment to help drive low carbon growth in developing countries and open up new markets for UK plc.”
The Summit represents:
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the opening meeting of the first of its kind Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance, a new global public-private platform to spur on private sector investment in low-carbon, climate-resilient infrastructure in developing countries. Comprising experts from developing and developed countries, pension funds, investment banks, and development finance institutions, the group will consider a shortlist of proposals on ways to raise private climate finance.
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the building of a set of investment principles and instruments that countries can adopt to increase private investment in clean energy. A number of ideas will be tabled for discussion, and a select number will be taken forward to the UN Secretary General’s Leaders’ Summit in September.
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the UK government’s strategy of supporting developing countries to fight climate change through a mix of direct government money and private investment. Significant amounts of private investment will be key to kick-starting a major transition to a sustainable, low-carbon future and the Clean Energy Finance Summit presents a significant milestone in achieving this goal.
In December 2013, the UK invested £30 million of ICF funds into the Global Climate Partnership Fund (GCPF), a public-private partnership dedicated to mitigating climate change through a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in emerging and developing markets. Public money helps to provide a risk cushion for the Fund to leverage in private investment to increase finance available to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and households. For more information on the GCPF, please visit the Global Climate Partnership Fund website.
Over 120 movers and shakers in international climate finance will take part at the Summit, including Ministers and government representatives from emerging economies and key donor nations, senior figures from the City of London, as well as development banks, project developers, NGOs and international development institutions. Countries represented include Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Malaysia, Uganda, Germany, Japan, Sweden, the Netherlands and Norway.
The Global Innovation Lab
The Lab on day one has been developed by the UK, US and Germany in partnership with climate finance donor countries like Denmark, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and private sector representatives. It aims to help developed countries meet their commitment to mobilise $100bn of climate finance a year by 2020 to support climate action in developing countries. Among its members are the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, Blackrock, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Pension Denmark, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.