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Title | Green Bank Network Mobilizes US$41 Billion for Clean Energy Projects Around the Globe |
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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.”
Douglass Sims, Director of Strategy and Finance at NRDC’s Center for Market Innovation, said: “Green banks are financial institutions that have sustainability and low carbon development written into their DNA, which makes them an ideal vehicle to help countries achieve their Paris Agreement commitments and sustainable development goals. From a relatively small capital base, the members of the Green Bank Network are demonstrating that innovative investing in renewable energy, energy efficiency and green infrastructure is good for the climate, economic development and the bottom line.”
The announcement was made at the 6th annual Green Bank Congress, convened adjacent to the Bloomberg NEF Future of Energy Summit in Shanghai and hosted in partnership with the Center for Finance and Development, Tsinghua National Institute of Financial Research, Green Finance Committee (GFC) of the China Society for Finance and Banking, with support from Lujiazui Green Finance Development Committee and Shenzhen Green Finance Committee.
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.
Additional announcements at the Congress include:
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.
This global group of financial institutions includes founding members Clean Energy Finance Corporation (Australia), Connecticut Green Bank (US), Green Finance Organisation (Japan), Malaysia Green Technology Corporation, NY Green Bank (US), and Green Investment Group (UK) and new member Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank (US). These organizations have appointed the Coalition for Green Capital and the Natural Resources Defense Council to manage the development of the network, with support from ClimateWorks foundation.
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.
Gavin Templeton, Head of Sustainable Finance, Green Investment Group said, “We’re delighted to be co-hosts of the 6th Green Bank Congress in Shanghai. Alongside the UK, home to the world’s first dedicated green finance institution, China has been at the forefront of the development of sustainable finance. Building national capacity is a core element of achieving the Paris goals and we believe the green bank model can be instrumental in achieving this.”
Ilmi Granoff, Director of Sustainable Finance at the ClimateWorks Foundation said: “It is fantastic to see a growing network of institutions, in both industrialized and emerging markets, demonstrating that entrepreneurial public capital with a low-carbon mission is fiscally efficient and an effective catalyst for growth in the low-carbon economy.” |
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Category | UNFCCC |
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Sources | United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change |
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