The world urgently demands a collaborative, coordinated, multilateral response to the rapidly increasing threat presented by climate change.
Meeting this challenge can then facilitate the transformation into a fully sustainable, kinder, and more equal global economy.
The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) is an enabler of pioneering climate-smart planning and climate action in low and middle-income economies, many of which are the least prepared yet the most prone to the challenges of climate change. CIF responds to the worldwide climate crisis with large-scale, low-cost, and long-term financial solutions to support countries achieve their climate objectives.
It is in the Climate Investment Funds’ core beliefs that helping communities shift faster to clean and green practices strengthens populations’ resilience against climate risks, stabilizes national and regional economies, and paves the way for more sustainable development where no one is left behind.
The finance raised by CIF empowers governments, civil society, indigenous peoples, the private sector, and multilateral development banks to work together with the joint aim of achieving the vision of a fairer future where the most vulnerable to climate change, including women and youth, are equally represented by climate leaders and decision makers.
Climate Investment Funds is a global leader in raising flexible, secure, concessional climate finance to pilot and scale cutting-edge climate solutions and innovations.
CIF is one of the world’s largest multilateral funds helping low and middle income countries adapt to and mitigate climate change. Since 2008, it has been channelling funds from government donors and the private sector to support more than 370 projects in 72 countries. Its launch emerged from recognition by world leaders that climate change and development are inextricably intertwined, and that climate-smart investment is needed at scale to deliver on the opportunities for green growth identified in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's).
Working in partnership with governments, the private sector, civil society, local communities, and six major multilateral development banks (MDBs), CIF provides highly competitive financing that reduces risk for investors, lowering barriers to piloting new technologies, scaling up proven solutions, opening up sustainable markets, and mobilizing private sector capital for climate action. Rallying stakeholders behind increasingly ambitious climate goals and complementary action, CIF draws in diverse partners who might otherwise be deterred from investing alone.
Currently boasting an impressive average co-financing generation rate of 1:8.3, CIF programs function as a catalyst to crowd in additional private sector financing. Indeed, these activities have proven to stimulate local economies and kickstart new markets in partner countries, thus attracting over $8 in additional financing for every dollar of Climate Investment Funds financing.
Independent evaluations by donor and recipient countries have shown that Climate Investment Funds is succeeding in accelerating progress toward a climate-smart future that leaves no one behind.
A transparent, country-led process, aims at fostering trust and collaboration among government ministries, civil society, Indigenous peoples, the private sector, and the multilateral development banks entrusted to implement the finance raised by the Climate Investment Funds.
Investments are overseen by a governing board that gives equal authority to donor and recipient countries and welcomes input from official observers representing all other stakeholders. Meanwhile, all operations are bound by a commitment to gender equality, empowering women to take leadership in climate action.
CIF recognizes that the transition to sustainable economies calls for unprecedented social and economic transformations that are likely to impact communities and livelihoods disproportionately. Its work around achieving climate goals is underpinned by the Just Transition Initiative, whose focus is to ensure a more socially equitable distribution of benefits stemming from climate finance and of opportunities presented by a cleaner, greener, and fairer future.