Nov 09, 2021
It has been an unbelievable and resoundingly successful first week at COP26 for the Climate Investment Funds (CIF). Media coverage has been non-stop and has been shared around the world. CEO Mafalda Duarte's poignant and honest op-ed in the Independent UK set the stage for CIF’s commanding presence at COP. Canada's $1bn contribution to CIF's Accelerating Coal Transition Investment and the US and UK support for the CIF Captial Market Mechanism grabbed the headlines on the first day of COP26. CIF’s two newly launched programs – Accelerating Coal Transition (ACT) Investment Program and Renewable Energy Integration (REI) were covered extensively on Energy Day. Read some of the news covering CIF during the first week of COP26 below.
Pre-COP:
- Our future depends on helping developing countries ditch coal power - Mafalda's op-ed in Independent UK
- We can use concessional finance to help developing economies embark on a much-needed energy transition, writes Mafalda Duarte.
Canadian ACT contribution:
- Trudeau moves on pledge to cap oil and gas emissions as COP26 talks begin in Scotland - The Canadian Press, CP24, Financial Post, and many others
That announcement was welcomed by Mafalda Duarte, CEO of Climate Investment Funds, which works with development banks, governments and communities in developing countries to finance climate solutions. “Canada understands our climate future will be won in developing countries,” she said. “Today's announcement from Prime Minister Trudeau is a strong signal of Canada's leadership in climate finance and represents a significant expansion of the country's 12-year partnership with the Climate Investment Funds.” - Poor nations' coal exit needs better planning for workers - Thomson Reuters Foundation
On Thursday, the CIF launched the "Accelerating Coal Transition" (ACT) investment programme, backed by pledges from the United States, Britain, Germany, Canada and Denmark totalling nearly $2.5 billion, saying it was the first of its kind. The first countries to benefit from the initiative will be South Africa, India, Indonesia and the Philippines, representing over 15% of coal-related emissions globally, with the aim of expanding it to more nations later. Mafalda Duarte, CEO of the CIF, said markets were starting to trend "in the right direction", away from supporting planet-heating coal, but the transition was not happening fast enough. "This is especially true in developing countries, where the steep political, social and economic barriers remain. Overcoming these obstacles is what ACT is all about," she added.
CIF Capital Market Mechanism
- Yellen says the U.S. will help raise $500 million for green bonds - New York Times
The separate financing program that Ms. Yellen described is designed to issue bonds and use the proceeds to support clean energy and sustainable infrastructure in developing economies. The bonds will be issued by the Climate Investment Funds, a multilateral fund based at the World Bank that invests money contributed by countries including the United States, Britain and Japan. - U.S. backs new effort to issue green bonds: Treasury chief Yellen - Reuters
Underscoring the urgency of acting to stop global warming, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, that the United States would join Britain in backing the Climate Investment Funds' (CIF) new Capital Market Mechanism. She said the initiative would help attract significant new private climate funds and provide $500 million per year for the CIF's Clean Technology Fund, as well as its new Accelerating Coal Transition investment program. - Climate Investment Funds to Raise Bonds for EM Energy Transition - Bloomberg (subscription service)
Climate Investment Funds plans to raise up to $500 million a year to help a clean energy transition in developing economies, part of a flurry of funding announcements during the COP26 climate summit. The multilateral financing organization will use its assets to issue investment-grade bonds, which it estimates could then mobilize a total $50 billion in investment from partners over the next decade to fund clean energy and sustainable infrastructure, according to a statement Wednesday. The U.S., U.K., Australia, Germany and Japan are among the donors to its clean technology fund. - 気候投資基金、途上国支援へ債券発行 - Nikkei Japan
世界銀行グループの気候投資基金（CIF）は3日、途上国の脱炭素の取り組みを後押しするため、債券発行に乗り出すと発表した。今後10年間にわたって投資適格債を計50億ドル（約5700億円）発行し、得た資金を再生可能エネルギーや電気自動車などの整備 - UK ushers in $130tn in net zero commitments and new climate fund - Yahoo Finance
He will announce the launch of an "innovative" new financing mechanism — the Climate Investment Funds’ Capital Markets Mechanism (CCMM) — that will boost investment into clean energy like solar and wind power in developing countries. This new fund will use reflows to help it issue green bonds worth billions of pounds in the City of London and could leverage an extra $30-70bn from other sources for specific clean energy projects. - News bulletin - Wall Street Journal (paywall)
"The gap between what governments have and what the world needs is large and the private sector needs to play a bigger role," says U.S. treasury secretary Janet Yellen in a speech at COP26 regarding the energy transition. Ms. Yellen says the U.S. will join the U.K. in supporting the Climate Investment Funds' Capital Markets Mechanism, which will help attract new private climate finance and contribute $500 million a year to clean technology and the transition away from coal. - CIF to enter bond markets to speed transition - Global Capital
The Climate Investment Funds’ Clean Technology Fund has introduced a “Capital Market Mechanism”, which will become a new issuer of investment grade bonds. The mechanism will become the first multilateral climate fund to access capital markets. The Climate Investment Fund seeks to provide climate finance for developing countries to accelerate their shifts into low carbon technologies. - Banks with $130 trillion in assets pledge to fund climate action. Activists aren’t impressed. - Grist
The multi-donor trust Climate Investment Funds, or CIF, launched a new financing mechanism to boost investment in wind and solar energy in the Global South.
South Africa/ACT:
India, Indonesia and the Philippines will join South Africa as the first recipients of a multibillion dollar pilot programme aimed at accelerating their transition from coal power to clean energy, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) said on Thursday.
- South Africa to get $8.5 bln from U.S., EU and UK to speed up shift from coal - Reuters
Mafalda Duarte, who heads the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), which has financed over 300 climate-friendly projects in some 72 countries, told Reuters her group had been working for months to develop the new Accelerating Coal Transition (ACT) facility, the first such instrument for developing countries. It will work through multilateral development bank partners to offer South Africa and other countries a financial toolkit combining low-cost loans with technical assistance, to help attract investment from the private sector and other sources. - Rich nations agree to fund South Africa's transition from coal - BBC World Service (radio interview)
A partnership of nations give $8.5bn to South Africa to help invest in greener energy Read more - Danish government to donate 100 million kroner ($15.6 million) to efforts to purchase and decommission coal power plants - Associated Press
Denmark's money will go to the Climate Investment Fund’s new Accelerating Coal Transition program, and the primary focus will initially be on South Africa, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. The Danish government said the program includes efforts supporting alternative employment of the local population in impacted areas.
- Western nations agree $8.5bn deal to help South Africa decarbonise - Financial Times
The Climate Investment Funds, a multilateral climate fund hosted by the World Bank, will contribute about $500m to the package during the first phase, said chief executive Mafalda Duarte. The CIF funding, which will draw in up to $5bn from other partners, would be used to retire coal plants, strengthen the grid, build new renewables, and assist workers in the transition, she said. “South Africa is uniquely positioned right now, if they get the support they need to get this transition started and be successful at it,” Duarte added. - COP26: where does all the climate finance money go? - Financial Times
Public investors are starting to rethink their approaches: The CIFs is raising a $2bn fund from rich countries including Canada, Germany and the US, to help countries transition out of coal. Duarte says it will use this money to leverage funds from other public and private investors, so that every $1 from CIF brings in $10 from others. - South Africa Could Be a Coal Transition Model, Climate Fund Says - Bloomberg
South Africa’s aging coal plants, the political priority given to exiting the dirtiest fossil fuel and its power-supply crisis mean it could be a model for other nations transitioning to cleaner energy, according to the head of an $8.5-billion group of climate funds. “I absolutely think that South Africa can serve as a demonstration for many other countries globally on how to do this,” said Climate Investment Funds Chief Executive Officer Mafalda Duarte in an interview from the COP26 climate summit. “There’s a clear momentum and a recognition now from many parties that there’s a need for an energy transition.” - South Africa to get $8.5 bln from U.S., EU and UK to speed up shift from coal - Reuters
Mafalda Duarte, who heads the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), which has financed over 300 climate-friendly projects in some 72 countries, told Reuters her group had been working for months to develop the new Accelerating Coal Transition (ACT) facility, the first such instrument for developing countries. It will work through multilateral development bank partners to offer South Africa and other countries a financial toolkit combining low-cost loans with technical assistance, to help attract investment from the private sector and other sources. - South Africa has one of the most coal-intensive economies in the world. Can it change? - Washington Post
Now the [World Bank] is changing direction. It will partner with the Climate Investment Funds, a multilateral climate fund, to finance more large battery storage. The Group of Seven in July approved an additional $2 billion for the Climate Investment Funds, which would support coal transition and “climate justice.” - Climate fund to back India, Indonesia, Philippines coal phaseout - Nikkei Asia
The multilateral Climate Investment Funds will invest about $2.5 billion to help developing countries that rely on fossil fuels to phase out coal, initially targeting India, Indonesia, the Philippines and South Africa. One of the world's largest funds for supporting green action revealed the plans on Thursday. - South Africa $8.5bn finance package offers a model for ending reliance on coal - Climate Home
Part of the South African package includes $500 million from a $2bn Accelerating Coal Transition (ACT) initiative launched by the Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) in Glasgow on Wednesday. It is the first dedicated international fund to help developing countries exit coal, with funding from the US, the UK, Germany, Canada, and Denmark. Indonesia, India, the Philippines and South Africa are the first beneficiaries of the scheme that aims to leverage private investments to support the transition from coal to clean energy. Together, they represent more than 15% of global coal-related emissions. - Coal money shrivels as climate talks turn to finance - E&E News
“We can’t make the Paris Agreement’s [goals] and meet our climate goals without an emphasis on phasing out coal. It’s not enough to focus on renewable energy capacity,” said Mafalda Duarte, CEO of the Climate Investment Funds. “And it’s a massive undertaking because we literally have to phase out 100 gigawatts of coal every year … until 2040. That’s like a coal power plant every day.” - 途上国の「脱石炭」で新事業 ＣＯＰ２６で弾み―世銀 - JIJI Press
【ワシントン時事】世界銀行グループが運営する「気候投資基金（ＣＩＦ）」は４日、途上国の「脱炭素」の取り組みを促すため、新たな事業に計２５億ドル（約２８５０億円）を拠出すると発表した。第１弾として、石炭火力発電に依存するインドなど４カ国を対象とする。国連気候変動枠組み条約第２６回締約国会議（ＣＯＰ２６）に合わせて、途上国支援の拡大を後押しする。 - Financiamento multilateral apoia países em desenvolvimento na transição energética - Portuguese News Agency/Expresso
...Os países em desenvolvimento "vão precisar de muito apoio" para fazer a transição do carvão para as energias renováveis, afirmou esta quinta-feira a portuguesa Mafalda Duarte, presidente executiva do Climate Investment Funds, um dos maiores mecanismos de financiamento multilateral nesta área.
REI
- EXCLUSIVE: Power grids in five emerging countries to get investment support - Reuters
Ukraine, Fiji, Colombia, Kenya and Mali will be the first countries to participate in an investment program announced on Thursday that will help developing countries transform their power grids to carry growing levels of renewable energy. The Climate Investment Funds (CIF), created by the world's biggest economies in 2008 to help developing countries accelerate their shift to a low-carbon economy, said its new initiative would help those countries bridge a huge gap in investments needed to integrate renewable energy sources.
