Members of the Green Bank Network have collectively closed transactions that are expected to mobilize US$41 billion in public and private capital for green infrastructure projects around the globe, effectively meeting their goal of US$40 billion by 2019.
The news comes shortly before the start of the UN’s Conference on Climate Change COP24 in Katowice (2 – 14 December), where governments are set to finalize the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement to hold the global average temperature increase to as close as possible to 1.5C.
Reed Hundt, CEO of the Coalition for Green Capital, notes: “Meeting climate goals will require an unprecedented and immediate mobilization of capital. Accelerating the formation of Green Banks in emerging economies can provide critical capacity to take on risk and leverage private capital to support large-scale low-carbon investment and enable countries, cities and states to meet their climate goals.”
The analysis, prepared by the Secretariat of the Green Bank Network using publicly available information, shows members are mobilizing as much as 10 dollars in total investment for every one dollar of public capital invested in clean energy projects. Investments to date have avoided 25 million metric tons of CO2EQ emissions.
Green banks are dedicated finance institutions created to work closely with the private sector to increase overall investment in clean energy and bring clean energy financing into the mainstream. The members of the Green Bank Network are investing across the technology spectrum, including wind, utility and small-scale solar, energy efficiency, low-carbon transport, combined heat and power, anaerobic digesters, LED street lighting, geothermal and energy storage. They are financing with a variety of products and at all scales – from multibillion-dollar offshore wind farms to more energy efficient property and vehicles, to solar for small and medium-sized enterprises and affordable housing properties.
It has been a pivotal year for the pioneering green banks that are the members of the Green Bank Network. Members collectively have committed about USD 10 billion for projects with a total value of more than USD 40 billion.
Original source: UNFCCC
Published on 28 November 2018
