Blending climate finance for low-carbon infrastructure

Climate events are already buffeting the planet—from floods to intense storms to droughts. Indeed, the likelihood of avoiding planetary warming beyond the 2 degree Celsius limit laid out in the Paris Climate Agreement is dimming. Avoiding widespread damage will require effective and efficient use of public and private financing in support of low-carbon, climate resilient infrastructure (LCR). LCR infrastructure is a subset of overall infrastructure that comprises “core” infrastructure needs—power, transport, and water/sewage, as well as investments in energy efficiency. The annual cost of such investments is estimated to be in the trillions.

On Friday, June 22, a panel of experts provided an update on innovations in multilateral climate finance. John Roome, senior director for Climate Change at the World Bank, discussed innovative approaches for supporting clean infrastructure in developing countries, since too often climate effects hit poor people the hardest. Kruskaia Sierra-Escalante, manager of the International Finance Corporation (IFC)’s Blended Finance Unit, and Matthieu Pegon, head of Blended Finance at IDB Invest, discussed blended concessional finance for the private sector. Senior Brookings Fellow Joshua Meltzer discussed his latest research on the topic.