Global Annual Climate Finance Reaches USD 364 Billion, Falls Short
Of Investment Needed To Limit Global Warming To Two Degrees Celsius
DOHA, Qatar, Dec. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report
released today, The Global Landscape of Climate Finance
2012, produced by Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), shows that
global annual investment to curb climate change reached
approximately USD 364 billion in
2010/2011.
This amount, while significant, falls short of most estimates of
investment needed to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius.
According to the International Energy Agency, approximately
USD 1 trillion each year is needed in
incremental investment in the energy sector alone to promote low
emissions growth. Much more will be needed to achieve climate
resilient development globally.
Building a complete picture of climate finance flows is critical
to understanding how much, and what type of support, is available
to curb and address climate change. The Global Landscape of
Climate Finance 2012 provides the most comprehensive global
climate finance mapping effort to date.
According to the report, the private sector was the main source
of global climate finance, contributing between USD 217 and 243 billion, mostly from corporations
and renewable energy project developers. Public sector investment
totaled between USD 16 and 23 billion
globally. Most public sector investment acted as a catalyst for
private investment through incentive mechanisms and subsidies that
helped to lower investment costs.
Public and private intermediary organizations such as national
development banks and commercial banks also played an important
role, raising and channeling between USD 110
and 120 billion, and often providing support for projects
that would otherwise not be viable.
"The fact that the public policies and incentives are starting
to unlock private investment is good news for policymakers dealing
with limited budgets," said Barbara
Buchner, Director, CPI Europe, and one of the principal
authors of the report. "However, the level of available investment
still falls far short of the total amount needed to limit global
warming to two degrees Celsius. We must focus on the policies that
are working and act quickly to scale those up around the
world."
One place to look for examples of how to encourage private
investment may be in Germany.
According to a related CPI report, The German Climate Finance
Landscape, which will be released later this month, the private
sector provided more than 95% of total climate finance in
Germany, about half of which was
supported by concessionary loans from public development banks.
The Global Landscape report also provided insights on how
and where climate finance was used. Emerging economies were key
recipients of climate finance, but were also important sources.
Roughly one third of global climate mitigation investments were
located in China, Brazil, and India, a significant share of which was raised
domestically and invested in pursuit of national development
mandates.
For more information, and to download the report, visit
www.ClimatePolicyInitiative.org.
Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) is a global policy
effectiveness analysis and advisory organization. Its mission is to
assess, diagnose, and support nations' efforts to achieve
low-carbon growth. An independent, not-for-profit organization with
long-term support from George Soros,
CPI's headquarters is in San
Francisco and regional offices are in Berlin, Beijing, Hyderabad, Jakarta, Rio de
Janeiro, and Venice.