PARIS (March 18, 2019) – The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) has joined in organizing a first-of-a-kind global Green Bank forum – the Green Bank Design Summit. Signaling a shift in global climate politics, 24 developing countries representing 27% of global GDP and 44% of global carbon emissions are coming together to craft a new model for advancing clean energy investment.

“To win the climate battle, countries around the world must rapidly increase Investment through a systemic effort to drive markets from carbon to clean energy. Green banks have the capacity to bring the international climate finance architecture into alignment with Paris climate goals and drive transition to a clean economy,” said Reed Hundt, CEO of the Coalition for Green Capital, another summit organizer.

“Time and time again, entrepreneurial and commercially minded green banks have accelerated private capital formation in the low-carbon economy in industrialized economies, maximizing the impact of scarce fiscal resources. These institutions hold enormous promise in emerging markets, where every public dollar is even more precious, and the need for low-carbon development is just as pressing,” says Ilmi Granoff of ClimateWorks Foundation, lead sponsor of the Summit.

When 197 nations agreed to the detailed rulebook for the Paris Agreement in December 2018, the world finally turned the page from negotiation to action. The focus is now on ambitious national climate plans, including emerging economies whose emissions are projected to grow fastest.  Mobilizing sufficient finance is a lynchpin in this effort.

The Green Bank Design Summit will build on a proven model of public Green Banks in advanced economies and CGCs work with the Development Bank of Southern Africa to form the first new climate finance facility in an emerging economy. More than two dozen developing nations will gather in Paris on March 18-19 to explore the establishment of national green finance institutions. They will be joined by leading private banks and development finance institutions also eager to play a role in the design of a new global climate finance system. The Green Bank Design Summit marks a moment of realignment in which a critical mass of nations is organizing in order to arrange and deliver avenues for finance that enable a profitable, effective, and rapid energy transition while promoting development goals.

The 25 countries attending the Summit come from every major developing region, including Asia (China, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mongolia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Kyrgystan), Africa (Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Angola, Uganda), Latin America (Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Peru), the Middle East (Jordan), and Eastern Europe (Turkey, Ukraine). Together, they represent approximately 29% of the global population, 27% of global GDP, 69% of developing country GDP, and 44% of global CO2 emissions from fuel consumption as well as 72% of developing country emissions.

“Developing nations are getting serious about decarbonization, but they need to maintain a strong focus on economic growth and broad-based development. Success depends on the ability to inject finance into the right kinds of investments quickly enough. This is why so many of them are exploring green banks as a means to supercharge that process,” said Paul Bodnar, Managing Director at Rocky Mountain Institute, a partner in convening the event.

Also participating are some of the world’s largest infrastructure and banking companies such as Macquarie, HSBC, and Mizuho Bank; development finance institutions and multilateral funds such as Agence Française de Développement, the Green Climate Fund, and the Asian Development Bank; existing green banks representing the Green Bank Network; and philanthropic foundations and allied organizations.

“As these countries know, governments can’t do this work alone. Private investors want and need to be part of the solution, and green banks can bridge those partnerships to increase investment in clean energy and launch this paradigm shift,” said Douglass Sims, a Director and Senior Advisor at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an organizer of the event.

The summit will kick off the design of a new global platform for green bank design and formation supported by governments, philanthropy, and the private sector.

More information on the Green Bank Design Summit can be found here. Interested media will be granted limited access for interviews as available.



About Coalition for Green Capital

The Coalition for Green Capital’s (CGC)’s mission is to drive clean energy investment in the United States and in developing countries with the goal of creating a 100% clean energy platform. CGC incubates local clean energy finance organizations— often called green banks—and structures public, private, and mission-driven capital for investment through those organizations. CGC has created multiple green banks and related entities, which have driven over $2 billion of investment including the first green bank in the United States, the Connecticut Green Bank, and the first green bank in emerging markets, in South Africa. CGC is currently working with local partners on initiatives in the United States, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

About the Natural Resources Defense Council

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org.

About Rocky Mountain Institute

Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)—an independent nonprofit founded in 1982—transforms global energy use to create a clean, prosperous, and secure low-carbon future. It engages businesses, communities, institutions, and entrepreneurs to accelerate the adoption of market-based solutions that cost-effectively shift from fossil fuels to efficiency and renewable energy. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing. More information on RMI can be found at www.rmi.org or on Twitter @RockyMtnInst.