Understanding Climate Finance

Kusi Hornberger, an author focused on scaling impact in development finance, joins Joan Larrea, CEO of Convergence, to discuss the transformative power of blended finance in development. They dive into how blended finance can unlock investments for the Sustainable Development Goals and tackle challenges faced by donor agencies. Insights on navigating risk in emerging markets and the essential role of intermediaries in connecting SMEs to funding highlight the complexity and necessity of strategic financing in creating sustainable impact.

Elizabeth Robberechts, Chief of Energy and Infrastructure at IDB Invest, joins the podcast this week to talk about how they look at investments and investment opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean.  She shares how the Inter American Bank’s investment arm is prioritizing climate finance in the region, including investment into climate adaptation, and key sectors and geographies where they would like to invest in going forward.  

The concepts of Web3 and Regenerative Economics is new to many of us, but both can play a key role in addressing climate change.  Anna Lerner, CEO of the Climate Collective, shares how digital technologies will play a transformative role to unlock climate action at scale.

Olga Calabozo Garrido leads MIGA's work in Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on enabling climate-focused investments in challenging environments. She discusses how MIGA provides crucial political risk insurance to attract private investors. The conversation dives into evaluating risks, expanding local currency guarantees, and the strategic sectors targeted for climate resilience. Olga emphasizes the importance of collaboration between project teams and investors to foster economic growth while supporting vulnerable communities through sustainable initiatives.

Accessing climate financing at scale can prove challenging because of a lack of track record or visibility to attract the right investors. Ian Callaghan, originator of the Climate Finance Accelerator concept, explains how the Climate Finance Accelerator looks to address this ‘missing middle’ through country specific programs and developing a sustainable pipeline of bankable, low-carbon projects. Learn about the Climate Finance Accelerator, funded by the UK’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, in this episode.

Don Purka, Principal Investment Officer for Energy at the IFC, discusses transformative upstream investments in emerging markets, especially Africa’s energy sector. He explains how development finance institutions bridge the 'missing middle' gap for businesses seeking funding. The conversation spans opportunities spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic and highlights collaborative strategies for enhancing infrastructure, like broadband and water utilities. Purka also emphasizes innovative technologies, such as green hydrogen, as key to supporting decarbonization efforts.

What is Britain doing to address international climate change?  Geoff Manley, from the newly minted British International Investment, talk about the development finance institution’s approach to investment and how Britain is approaching international climate investing.

What is FinDev Canada and what does it do?  Since its inception a few years ago, FinDev Canada has been committed to making impactful investments in Africa and Latin America.   Lori Kerr, CEO of FinDev Canada, joins the podcast to share priority areas for the organization and what they aim to build in the years to come. 

The US DFC is a relatively new Development Finance Institution since it evolved from its predecessor, OPIC.  This has meant a greater emphasis on climate, a wider range of financial instruments at their disposal (such as equity and TA) and presents new opportunities for project developers.  Nadia Khawar, Director for Business Development in the Office of Structured Finance and Insurance at DFC, shares how DFC operates, where it is keen to invest and how they can work with Canadian projects in emerging markets.

Why is Natural Capital investing so important?  IDB’s Natural Capital Lab lead Greg Watson shares the priorities of the IDB around investing into nature based solutions and the financial instruments they support to make NBS investing a reality.