Building on hundreds of millions of dollars in initial funding for Lab initiatives and G7 endorsement, The Lab is now launching a second cycle

Submit ideas here, deadline: November 6th

LIMA— Today, financial leaders gather in Lima, Peru to review pledges to provide finance to help poor countries around the world address climate change. In this context, and with support from the U.S., UK, German, and Dutch governments, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and The Rockefeller Foundation, the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance is launching a second cycle that will build on its past successes identifying, developing, and delivering climate finance initiatives.

In June of this year, the G7 endorsed the initiatives developed within The Lab’s first cycle. These initiatives have collectively raised 170 million USD in initial funding and progressed on their implementation. For example, Climate Investor One (formerly the Climate Development and Finance Facility) has raised its required initial funding and is now a concrete investment opportunity that can drive up to two billion in private investment in renewable energy through to 2020. Energy Savings Insurance is in the process of expanding its Mexican pilot to a Latin American Facility that will guarantee energy savings throughout the region, unlocking significant investment in this area.

The Lab is now calling on individuals and organizations to submit ideas and instruments for a second cycle. It welcomes proposals on mitigation and also seeks ideas that can drive private investment into adaptation. Proposals can be submitted through November 6, and successful ideas will be announced in December.

The Lab will assess, develop, and launch the most promising initiatives over the next year, drawing on expertise from its high-level, private and public sector members. Successful ideas benefit from input and guidance from these members, as well as from the in-depth analysis provided by The Lab.

As part of this next cycle, The Lab is also welcoming several new members to take part in this work, including the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), and the Danish Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate.

QUOTES:

Thomas Egebo, Danish Permanent Secretary of State, and new Lab Principal: “The Lab has shown it can quickly move from talk to action, a trait very much needed in the climate change community, which is taking on one of the most urgent problems facing the world today.”

João Carlos Ferraz, Executive Director of the Brazilian Development Bank, BNDES, and new Lab Principal: “Challenges and opportunities from climate change impose for both emerging and advanced economies an urgent need for solutions. The Lab aims at fostering, bringing about, and disseminating new forms of climate finance. BNDES hopes to learn from and contribute to this relevant and innovative initiative.”

Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary of Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety and Lab Principal: “The science of climate change is ever clearer. Leading organizations point to finance for cleaner infrastructure and adaptation as critical to creating the transition to a cleaner economy urgently needed, globally. Germany is proud to support The Lab in its efforts to unlock more finance for decarbonizing the world economy.”

Judith Rodin, President of The Rockefeller Foundation: “Combatting climate change is a momentous challenge and The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to support The Lab in developing innovative financing mechanisms with the power to unlock private sector dollars to build greater resilience, particularly for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people who are disproportionately impacted by climate change.”

Amber Rudd, Secretary of Energy and Climate Change, UK: “With just two months to go until the climate change conference in Paris we are working hard with international partners to land a global deal that will mark the beginning of a global step change in efforts to limit global warming to two degrees in the long term. The Global Innovation Lab is a great example of how the public and private sectors can work together to innovate and tackle the barriers to low carbon investment. Its second cycle will rightfully focus on supporting adaptation and resilience in developing countries, helping to bring a more secure and prosperous future for us all.”

Todd Stern, Special Envoy for Climate Change, U.S. Department of State: “We launched The Lab in 2014 to spur innovative solutions that overcome barriers to scaling up global climate finance. In its first round, the Lab has made rapid progress identifying and supporting these solutions, and we have high expectations for further important innovations during The Lab’s second cycle.”

Antha N. Williams, Bloomberg Philanthropies Environment Program Lead: “As climate risks and the tremendous opportunities of clean, low-carbon energy become better understood by the finance community, initiatives like the Lab are essential. By leveraging philanthropy and public sector finance to remove barriers and minimize project risks, the Lab is catalyzing new investments in sustainable, climate-friendly growth.”

Barbara Buchner, Senior Director at Climate Policy Initiative and head of the secretariat for The Lab: “Our analysis shows the capital exists to finance a transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient economy, but investors face barriers to financing mitigation and adaptation at scale, particularly in developing countries. By drawing on expertise of members of The Lab, identifying promising solutions, and developing and launching these solutions, we can unlock new sources of private investment, moving quickly from talk to action, and accelerating the global transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy.”

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The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance is a global initiative that supports the identification and piloting of cutting edge climate finance instruments. It aims to drive billions of dollars of private investment into climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. Analytical and secretariat work of The Lab has been funded by the UK Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC), the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), the U.S. Department of State, the Netherlands Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and The Rockefeller Foundation. Climate Policy Initiative serves as The Lab Secretariat.

Contact:

U.S. – Elysha Rom-Povolo +1 415 728 3613, elysha@cpisf.org

Europe – Dan Storey, +39 041 270 0475, dan.storey@cpivenice.org