When climate investments are aligned with broader development objectives, they can unlock positive and far-reaching social, economic, environmental, and market impacts.
We know this because we, at the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), commissioned an independent evaluation to better understand if, and how, climate finance and development impacts are linked.
The outcome is clear: CIF’s climate finance is a multiplying force for development impacts. Our work on development impacts is the first comprehensive and systematic study that captures qualitative and quantitative data from across our investment portfolio. By homing in on first-tier catalytic actions, our climate programs can unlock a range of socio-economic or market-related outcomes: from creating new jobs or increasing the representation of women to improving health benefits or access to vital community services.
This week marks 15 years since CIF’s inception, and it is fitting to celebrate the wider impact our climate finance has realized. But we have not done this alone; our ability to deliver relies on a range of vital partnerships. Our business model depends on the solid trust of the governments we serve in low- and middle-income countries so that our climate investments enhance their national development objectives. It also depends on our donor partner countries who answer the call for increased funding as we all strive to attain the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Pivotal Partnerships for delivery
Another set of pivotal relationships is with the 6 multilateral development banks (MDBs), including the African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the World Bank. A unique feature of our operational model working with the MDBs as the central delivery mechanism for our climate investments, has not only yielded successful implementation on the ground but also opens co-funding opportunities by mobilizing additional finance.
Included in this all-star cast of government and the MDBs are our partners in the private sector, other climate funds, and advocates in the climate action sector more broadly, who have all strengthened and sustained our ability to deliver. Over 15 years, CIF has mobilized more than US$11 billion in donor contributions, more than US$ 7.5 billion in funds committed to country investments and regional programs, and, used the US$7.5 billion, to realize more than US$63.4 billion in co-financing.
Unlocking development impacts: Impact in action
As a part of our mandate to be a learning laboratory for climate finance, the independent evaluation of our portfolio has taught us two important lessons: (1) We must be intentional about the development outcomes we want to achieve, and, (2) this intention must be embedded in everything we plan, design, and implement. If we do, we can catalyze and then multiply benefits as these real-world examples show:
Climate investments anchored in evidence
These examples, and our work more generally over the past decade and a half, provide the evidence for how our climate finance is a catalytic force that drives development. As we look ahead and increase our ambition, we can do more to harness this force to deliver tangible, meaningful, and transformative benefits, especially for those most vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis.