London – This week, as world leaders gather in Madrid for the UN’s COP 25 conference on climate change, the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (the Lab) achieved $2.07 billion in sustainable investments. The figure was collectively mobilized by the 41 instruments the Lab has developed and launched since 2014. The milestone comes less than two years after Lab instruments crossed the $1 billion threshold.
The Lab is a public-private initiative composed of over 60 partner institutions from governments, development banks, philanthropies, financial institutions, and corporate partners from other sectors. It identifies, develops, and accelerates sustainable investment vehicles and early-stage enterprises that tackle some of the most difficult climate challenges.
Most recent announcements of instrument progress include:
- First close of CRAFT (Climate Resilience and Adaptation Finance & Technology Transfer Facility), the first ever commercial investment vehicle to focus on expanding the availability of technologies and solutions for climate adaptation and resilience. CRAFT is the first adaptation Lab instrument to raise significant funding. Investments from Lab members The Rockefeller Foundation and KfW, as well as Lab observer European Investment Bank (EIB) alongside other public and private investors contributed to the first close.
- First closes of the MGM Sustainable Energy Fund, formerly the Energy Efficiency Enabling Initiative, a private equity fund that relies on donor-backed equity capital, technical assistance, and risk mitigation instruments to crowd in private investment in energy efficiency. Investments from several Lab members, including FMO (Dutch Development Bank), the Inter-American Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and Lab observer EIB contributed to this fund.
The $2.07 billion includes $370 million in investment from Lab members and $1.7 billion catalyzed from other investors. Of the total, $800 million comes from private investment, with more expected as the instruments scale up.
Just three months ago, the Lab launched six new instruments. It is currently seeking ideas for innovative sustainable investment for the 2020 cycle.
This year, the Lab is particularly interested in ideas across four main priority areas: nature-based solutions, sustainable cities, sustainable agriculture, and sustainable energy access. There are also three dedicated regional focuses on Brazil, India, and Southern Africa. The Lab also welcomes ideas that target other sectors and geographies.
The deadline to submit an idea for the Lab’s 2020 cycle is December 20th, 2019 at 17:00 PST. Learn more here.
QUOTES
“We are very proud of what the Lab’s instruments have accomplished. The $2 billion milestone demonstrates not only the relevance of the ideas but the efficiency of the Lab’s process and its network. In fact, much of this figure comes from Lab members, showing the strength of the network the Lab has put together. With many leaders calling for climate action at scale, we hope to continue pushing forward this model that has shown success in a short time.” – Dr. Barbara Buchner, Executive Director, Climate Policy Initiative and Lab Secretariat.
“Scaling up climate finance is at the centre of negotiations at COP25. As the EU climate bank, we congratulate the Lab and its members and partners for achieving the $2 billion mark in sustainable investment mobilized. This sends an important signal of confidence to investors: innovative financial instruments for climate change mitigation and adaptation are good business. For this reason, we are delighted to co-finance two instruments launched by Lab: CRAFT, the first investment vehicle dedicated to innovative adaptation technologies, and MGM Sustainable Energy Fund, a private equity fund that seeks to crowd in private finance for energy efficiency investments. We hope this success will attract more finance, including from the private sector.” – Emma Navarro, EIB Vice President in charge of Climate Action and Environment.
“The Rockefeller Foundation is pleased to know that our investment in CRAFT is helping push the Lab’s instruments over the $2 billion milestone for climate action. We’re supporting it not only because it addresses climate adaptation and resilience, but also for being an innovative and promising marketable solution to fill this gap. We are also proud of the support provided to the Lab Secretariat to move forward innovative and transformative instruments. Crossing this important milestone of $2 billion mobilized demonstrates the model’s outsized impact on sustainable development and climate change.” – Lorenzo Bernasconi, Managing Director, The Rockefeller Foundation.
ABOUT THE LAB
The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance identifies, develops, and launches innovative finance instruments that can drive billions in private investment to action on climate change and sustainable development. The Lab is funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Netherlands Ministry for Foreign Affairs, The Rockefeller Foundation, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, and the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. Climate Policy Initiative serves as Secretariat.
CONTACT
Communications Associate
Climate Policy Initiative
julio.lubianco@cpirio.org
+55 (21) 96463-7061
Skype: julio.lubianco
