Two new financial institutions from Brazil and Washington, D.C., today joined a growing green financing movement that uses relatively small pools of public funds to attract substantially larger private funds to invest in renewable energy, energy efficiency and other low-carbon technologies and projects aiding the shift from fossil fuels to a climate-friendly future.
03 November 2021 | NRDC
President Biden included the national green bank that would inject funding into state green banks, as a key climate provision in the American Jobs Plan. The House passed the green bank as part of the INVEST in America Act (H.R. 3684), marking the third time the Accelerator has been passed by the chamber. In a July letter to congressional leaders urging action on climate infrastructure, over 140 mayors called for the creation of a national green bank. Last month, 10 governors on the front lines of the climate crisis called on Congress to pass the National Green Bank, because doing so would be one of “the most impactful actions to protect our climate” and environmental groups echoed that message.
29 October 2021 | Coalition for Green Capital
Finance will be one of the four major topics that will be discussed at the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) 26 meet in November this year. As the recent IPCC report warns, urgent and bold climate action is needed to avoid catastrophic consequences of climate change. At COP 26, countries are expected to enhance their climate targets into greater alignment with what the world needs to keep warming to below 1.5 C. In the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic, mobilising climate finance for developing countries, such as India, is more important than ever. India has been vocal about developed countries stepping up, and making good on their promise to mobilise at least $100 billion annually in climate finance.
9 September 2021 | Economic Times.com
NY Green Bank, the largest of its kind in the nation, has completed a $314 million private capital transaction with Bank of America (BofA), a first for NY Green Bank and the largest private deal by a green bank in the U.S.
5 August 2021 | Environment + Energy Leader
This year’s Budget saw Finance Minister Grant Robertson inject a further $300 million into the New Zealand Green Investment Fund. He boosted the NZGIF’s existing investment capital 400 per cent to $400m. This changed everything for NZGIF CEO Craig Weise. He says not only does the extra capital mean his organisation is now able to do more, but it is also now able to think differently about its role. “It gives us a much bigger balance sheet. this is a more comfortable size for us given the amount of opportunity out there and the challenge of getting more capital flows into low carbon activities,” Weise says.
29 July 2021 | New Zealand Herald
$230 million in discounted green home loan finance is now available for Australians, with a $750 million green mortgage-backed securitisation raised by Firstmac, Australia’s largest non-bank financial institution, backed by the CEFC and Japanese bank, Norinchukin. In an Australian-first, Firstmac has raised $750 million through a green mortgage-backed securitisation where all the underlying mortgages are backed by environmentally friendly housing.
28 June 2021 | Energy Magazine
This past month, Lord Nicholas Stern opened the second Global Green Bank Design Summit noting we are at a crucial moment in history with the twin crises of COVID and climate. He asked, “How do we recover? How do we drive forward in a different way?” Countries are grappling with how to revitalize their economies to spur long-lasting COVID recoveries. Fortunately, a growing number recognize that national green investment banks can help them build back stronger while advancing climate action and social inclusion goals.
7 July 2021 | RMI and NRDC
In early March, the US House of Representatives introduced the CLEAN Future Act, a bill that contains comprehensive legislation for combatting climate change. Among the Act’s proposals is the establishment of a Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator, which would be capitalised with $100 billion in federal support to boost private-sector investments in clean energy and other climate solutions, and thus help various private entities to make the necessary transitions towards a clean economy. As such, many are now classing the Accelerator as akin to a “national green bank”, one that will ostensibly play a crucial role in the success of such a transition.
25 June 2021 | International Banker
In the United States, financing infrastructure and clean energy projects is often contingent on the quirks of partisan dealmaking in Congress. But there may be a better way. A green bank model has been successful in several other countries. The United Kingdom’s green bank funded much of its offshore wind boom before the government sold it in 2017. (The current UK government is exploring bringing it back.) Through Australia’s green bank, the largest in the world, the country has invested in wind, solar, and hydrogen development in addition to financing the construction of energy-efficient homes.
1 June 2021 | Vox
New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF) has received an additional $300 million in investment capital, increasing its total pool of investment capital to $400 million.
20 May 2021 | NZGIF
The COVID-19 pandemic has crippled the world economy, exacerbated inequalities and strained governments’ resources in combating the worst wave of unemployment since the Great Depression. Yet, relief may be in sight: As vaccines roll out, the international dialogue is buzzing with hope for not only a recovery, but a new sustainable system that ensures economic security and addresses climate change.
8 April 2021 | SAIS at Johns Hopkins
Quick, what do Alaska, Maine and South Carolina have in common? All three U.S. states are seriously evaluating the creation of green banks — financing institutions created with the explicit mission of combining public and private funds to invest in climate solutions and green infrastructure. They would join roughly 20 other U.S. jurisdictions that have used this mechanism to drive more than $5 billion in clean energy investments as of the end of 2019, including Connecticut, Florida, Michigan and Washington, D.C.
25 March 2021 | GreenBiz
The African Development Bank has partnered with the Climate Investment Funds to release a scoping report highlighting the impact of combining green banks and national climate funds to accelerate green financing. The report explores six countries, that being Ghana, Zambia, Uganda, Tunisia, Mozambique and Benin, to gain knowledge about how expanding the green bank model in Africa could build country-based green finance capacity.
25 March 2021 | ESI Africa
Victoria is set to become home to one of the world’s biggest lithium-ion batteries by the end of the year after the federal government’s green bank delivered $160 million to French energy giant Neoen’s massive storage project near Geelong.
25 February 2021 | Sydney Morning Herald
To help make President Biden's climate goals a reality, some clean energy advocates have called for the creation of a green bank to support and accelerate clean energy investments. While the concept hasn't taken center stage in the Biden administration so far, one new member of the Biden administration's climate team helped develop the blueprint for what such an institution could look like.
17 February 2021 | EnergyWire
Bank dubbed 'Green Investment Bank 2.0' by Business Secretary should be given legal mandate to tackle regional inequalities, help achieve net zero, and reverse decline of nature, according to green finance and business leaders
9 February 2021 | BusinessGreen
On Wednesday, Democrats in Congress reintroduced the Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator Act. The bill would direct $100 billion to the Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator, a nonprofit entity tasked with making loans and investments into sectors of the economy that need to grow rapidly to meet the Biden-Harris administration’s aggressive decarbonization goals.
3 February 2021 | PV Magazine
CDC Group, a UK government-owned development finance institution, today announced a US $30-million green lending facility to Tata Cleantech Capital Limited (TCCL). The investment will enable TCCL to offer loans to businesses across India that focus on e-mobility solutions and water and energy efficiency.
28 January 2021 | PV Magazine
In a new whitepaper released on behalf of the Coalition for Green Capital, economists at The Brattle Group have identified potential roles for a new, federally sponsored financial institution to promote economic recovery via decarbonization: the Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator.
14 January 2021 | Brattle
The recently launched State of Green Banks 2020 report, the first comprehensive survey, aggregation and analysis of global green bank activity, found that a growing number of countries worldwide are exploring green banks.
4 January 2021 | GreenBiz
New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF) is pleased to announce it has joined the Green Bank Network, a global membership organisation connecting leaders in clean energy finance, sharing best practices and supporting investment in clean energy solutions.
16 December 2020 | NZGIF
While the attention of the world is on a rapid and sustainable COVID recovery, increasing climate change risks continue to loom large. In this blog by RMI's Paul Bodnar, NRDC's Doug Sims, and GFI's Rhian-Mari Thomas, the authors explore the current state of green banks worldwide and make the case for them as an implementable, versatile answer for sustainable economic recovery.
15 December 2020 | Green Bank Design Platform
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will set out plans next week for a new National Infrastructure Bank to channel billions of pounds into capital projects as part of the UK government’s “levelling-up agenda”, according to government officials.
20 November 2020 | Financial Times
A new report finds that while governments and financial institutions are laboring hard to unlock the investment needed to meet climate and sustainable development goals, green banks can efficiently and effectively help overcome market barriers and channel investments into low carbon technologies, thereby accelerating global efforts to meet climate goals outlined in the landmark Paris Agreement.
12 November 2020 | Environment + Energy Leader
Around the world, a growing number of countries are exploring green banks—financial institutions or facilities dedicated to accelerating the shift to a sustainable economy. State of Green Banks 2020 is the first aggregation and analysis of this activity, based on novel data collected from existing and emerging green banks in mid-2020.
11 November 2020 | Green Bank Design Platform
Opinion: To address the challenges America is facing — Covid-19, recession, inequality and climate change — Mr. Biden should create a public investment bank.
11 November 2020 | Financial Times
New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF) has made a $5.8m investment in Carbn Group, the parent company of two distinct subsidiaries that have been formed to support the uptake of low emissions vehicles in corporate and government-owned fleets.
8 October 2020 | NZGIF
A national climate bank could spur private investment in clean energy and create millions of jobs—paving the way for a low-carbon future post-COVID-19.
1 October 2020 | Fast Company
Three leading clean energy, finance and environmental organizations announced the formation of a strategic partnership to undertake a comprehensive review of the current global impact of green banks and identify the finance, technology, and policy requirements needed to expand green banks globally, allowing countries to attract private investment for low-carbon, climate-resilient solutions.
22 September 2020 | RMI
OYA Solar announced that it has successfully closed a $35 million construction and interconnection financing from NY Green Bank, a state-sponsored, specialized financial entity and division of NYSERDA. The financing will support the construction of three community solar projects in New York state, the first of which, a 6.8 MWDC project in Constable, New York, is already under construction.
23 September 2020 | Solar Power World
This discussion brief provides an overview of the development of green banking practices in China, identifying major policies and practices, performance to date, as well as barriers to further expansion.
13 August 2020 | Climate Policy Initiative
A National Investment Bank could make low-carbon technologies more attractive to private investors, argues the head of the Green Finance Institute
19 August 2020 | GFI
New Zealand Green Investment Finance has announced a strategic equity investment in Thinxtra The IoT Telco, a leading Internet of Things (IoT) network and service provider operating an established network across New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong.
18 August 2020 | NZGIF
ClimateWorks makes the argument that whether you are looking to support innovation or deployment of existing clean energy solutions, a federal Green Bank would be a powerful tool for advancing the energy transition.
20 July 2020 | PV Magazine
The New Zealand government’s $100 million green fund, which was established at the start of the coalition’s term, has made its first investment. The entity, Green Investment Finance Limited, was set up with the aim of lowering New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions. The green fund is pumping $15m into electric vehicles, generating renewable energy and upgrading energy efficiency at Wellington’s port.
18 June 2020 | RNZ
States are tapping public financing institutions to advance a green agenda and create jobs as they plan their economic rebound from the coronavirus pandemic. New Jersey adopted the idea in April, saying it will set up a green bank by the end of the year to finance environmentally friendly infrastructure. The state follows in the footsteps of Connecticut, New York and other states that provide loans and grants to fund carbon-cutting projects, such as community solar and energy efficiency retrofits.
2 June 2020 | Politico
With their mandate to focus on low-carbon, climate-resilient investments and crowd in private capital, green banks are ideally positioned to assist countries with the implementation of their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), as per the terms of the Paris Agreement.
28 May 2020 | RMI
There is a way to facilitate economic recovery while addressing the climate emergency. The answer lies in green investment banks.
30 April 2020 | RMI
On this podcast, Bryan Garcia and Eric Shrago of the Connecticut Green Bank, explain how “Green Liberty Bonds” will expand clean energy investment. The small-denomination munis for retail, modeled after the World War II Series E bonds, are independently certified to fight climate change. Chip Barnett hosts.
23 April 2020 | The Bond Buyer
According to a new paper released by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), infrastructure will prove crucial to the success of Australia’s energy transition. The “Issues Paper: Reshaping Infrastructure for a net zero emissions future” (paper) asserts that around 70% of Australia’s annual greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to infrastructure which, to boot, cannot possibly sustain us long-term.
9 April 2020 | PV Magazine
Connecticut’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program surpassed 300 closed projects at the end of 2019, reaching a total of more than $163 million in clean energy financing investment in local businesses.
3 March 2020 | Environmental + Energy LEADER
Australia’s green bank has partnered with Bank of Australia to deliver discounted interest rates to green home builders and buyers. The green home loan is the first Australian financial instrument to use energy efficiency measurement tools to determine eligibility. The federal government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is investing up to $60 million in a green home loan program launched in partnership with Bank of Australia. The discounted home loans will be available for builders and home buyers that commit to constructing new homes with a minimum 7-star energy rating.
14 January 2020 | PV Magazine
The high up-front cost of clean energy projects has proven to be a barrier to cities and states trying to move away from fossil fuels. The National Climate Bank would not only offer seed money for those types of projects, but would be staffed by people with technical expertise in clean energy and who could navigate the sometimes complex financing mechanisms. A September report from the New York-based Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) found that a bank along the lines of Dingell’s proposal could mobilize up to $1 trillion of investment over 30 years.
16 December 2019 | UtilityDive
At COP25, 9 countries showcased their progress and discussed their excitement at the potential the green bank model has to lead the market in technologies that will mitigate emissions and support resilience and adaptation.
17 December 2019 | Rocky Mountain Institute
MADRID, SPAIN - As pressure builds for stronger country-level action to curb climate change, nine countries and partners are demonstrating that leadership at the COP25 climate conference by announcing progress towards creating green banks. The countries spotlighted their advances today at a COP25 event, “Green Banks for Country-Driven Climate Finance: Showcasing Country Ambition.” The event was convened by the Green Bank Design Platform, a global collaboration to accelerate green bank formation.
11 December 2019 | Green Bank Design Platform
A companion bill to the US Senate’s National Climate Bank Act is expected to be introduced in the House of Representatives this week. If enacted, the boost for the solar and the solar plus storage markets would be enormous. Because the National Climate Bank’s aim is to support the electrification of the power grid, its creation would also bring in new utility customers, notably expanding utilities’ footprint in areas such as transportation.
3 December 2019 | PV Magazine
These ecological banks have a clear mandate: to multiply and accelerate the impact of limited public funds and, above all, to serve as channels of private investment to take advantage of the experience, flexibility and agility of the business world.
28 November 2019 | El Mundo
EU’s lending arm to become first ‘climate bank’ by ending financing of oil, gas and coal projects after 2021
15 November 2019 | The Guardian
The Australian government has extended an extra $1 billion to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in energy storage projects, transmission and distribution infrastructure and grid stabilizing technologies.
31 October 2019 | PV Magazine Australia
Even as previous attempts to win bipartisan support for a national green bank have failed to gain traction, advocates are continuing to promote the concept, this time with an even more ambitious proposal based in part on successful projects in the Northeast.
17 October 2019 | Energy News Network
During Climate Week, Rocky Mountain Institute cohosted a roundtable meeting where five countries and one city laid out their rationale for developing a green bank
30 September 2019 | Rocky Mountain Institute
It has been a pivotal year for the members of the Green Bank Network. Members collectively have committed about USD 14.9 billion for projects that are expected to mobilize US$50 billion in public and private capital for green infrastructure projects around the globe, surpassing their goal of US$40 billion by 2019.
24 September 2019 | Green Bank Network
The Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) have established a specialised Climate Finance Facility, following a year-long process. The agreement marks the GCF’s commitment of US$56 million to the Climate Finance Facility, which will use financial tools such as credit enhancements to drive investment into projects that mitigate climate change.
13 September 2019 | World Economic Forum
There won’t be a transition to clean energy without a way to finance what could be the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken. Green banks—purpose-built financial institutions that facilitate funding of clean-energy projects—aim to lead the way. Yale Insights talked with Jeffrey Schub ’13 of the Coalition for Green Capital about what a National Climate Bank could achieve.
27 August 2019 | Yale Insights
The New York Green Bank (NYGB) raised the total amount of capital it has committed to $786.7 million in the second quarter, after securing four deals for a combined $49.1 million investment.
15 August 2019 | Environmental Finance
Green banks are on the rise as cities look for ways to fund essential work to prevent climate change and its effects.
02 August 2019 | SmartCitiesWorld
After it deployed a record $1.3 billion into the clean energy sector in a 12-month period, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation said it will sharpen its focus on energy storage and other technologies to support the stability of the national grid.
30 July 2019 | PV Magazine Australia
Calls for a federal “climate investment bank” or “green bank” have started to become a cornerstone policy position, with calls for one in Congress and by Presidential contenders Inslee, Bennet, and O’Rourke.
20 July 2019 | PV Magazine
The Development Bank of Southern Africa’s Climate Finance Facility is a specialized lending facility designed to increase private investment in climate-related infrastructure projects in the Southern African Development Community region, which faces significant climate mitigation and adaptation challenges.
3 July 2019 | Convergence
The Coalition for Green Capital is helping Rwanda to further expand its climate action finance capacity. The Catalytic Green Investment Fund aims to expand private investment in Rwanda’s green sectors. The catalytic approach uses public investment to attract private investment, by reducing risk and addressing other market barriers.
27 June 2019 | SmartCitiesWorld
The creation of a national Green Bank would provide funding to the private sector for climate breakdown – to homeowners who want to make the high-return investments in insulation that enables them to wage their own battle against the climate crisis, or businesses that want to retrofit their plants and headquarters for the green economy.
4 June 2019 | The Guardian
The Australian government’s green bank continues to invest in energy efficient homes for low income families with a new funding granted for solar and battery-powered dwellings in regional New South Wales.
9 May 2019 | PV Magazine
With the climate clock ticking, green banks emerge as financial engines of country action.
26 Apr 2019 | Virgin
When the Paris Agreement on climate change was negotiated in 2015, its framers recognized that the finance sector would be key to implementation. More than three years later, compiling enough funds to back ambitious climate action continues to be challenging. But one solution may lie in so-called green banks.
Spring 2019 | Courier
En el primer foro de su tipo, en financiamiento verde, realizado en París, Francia, y señalando un cambio en la política climática global, 24 países en desarrollo que representan el 27 percent del PIB mundial y el 44 percent de las emisiones globales de carbono, se están uniendo para crear un nuevo modelo que permita avanzar en materia de inversión en energía limpia.
29 Mar 2019 | Mi Ambiente
A comienzos de marzo se desarrolló en Paris, Francia, el Green Bank Design Summit, el primer foro que busca crear un nuevo modelo para promover la inversión en energía limpia con el diseño e implementación de la Plataforma de Inversión Verde (“Bancos Verdes”), un innovador sistema de financiamiento del clima.
27 Mar 2019 | Networker
Massive financial investment is needed in clean energy, transport, and buildings to achieve climate goals, especially in emerging countries such as India.
26 Mar 2019 | Natural Resources Defense Council
The world needs a new model to channel private finance into emerging-nation clean projects and commercial banks are among those planning to help create it.
18 Mar 2019 | Bloomberg
Officials from two dozen countries that are together responsible for 43 percent of global carbon emissions are to attend a Paris Summit designed to accelerate green finance flows.
18 Mar 2019 | Business Green
The world needs a new model to channel private finance into emerging-nation clean projects and commercial banks are among those planning to help create it.
18 Mar 2019 | Capital Markets in Africa
A host of the world’s largest emerging and developing economies are to jointly explore how dedicated green banks could help deliver billions of dollars of low-carbon investment to support the national climate action plans they agreed to under the Paris Agreement.
18 Mar 2019 | Petrol Gas Report
La Cumbre de Diseño de Bancos Verdes (Green Bank Design Summit) marca el momento de una nueva alineación en el que una masa crítica de naciones se pone de acuerdo para organizar y ofrecer vías de financiamiento que permitan una transición energética rentable, efectiva, y rápida, al tiempo que promueven los objetivos de desarrollo.
18 Mar 2019 | Latinformation News
Twenty-three developing countries representing 26 percent of global GDP and 43 percent of global carbon emissions are coming together to craft a new model for advancing clean energy investment.
18 Mar 2019 | Rocky Mountain Institute
A green rain of financial support will fall on climate change delegates in Paris next week at the opening of the Green Bank Design Summit on Monday, March 18.
15 Mar 2019 | Clean Technica
In the first forum of its kind, and one that signals a shift in global climate politics, 23 developing countries have come together to craft a new model for advancing clean energy investment.
March 2019 | Virgin