Addressing the barriers to climate investment

This guide by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) provides a framework for decision-makers to select and deploy financial instruments—including grants, concessional loans, equity, and guarantees—to fund climate adaptation and mitigation. It emphasizes the need to identify project-level barriers to ensure investment subsidies are efficient and that financial instruments are supported by favorable policy environments and expert national institutions.

• Financial support schemes should prioritize projects that provide societal benefits but lack appeal for commercial investors, rather than attempting to make every project financially viable.
• Identifying barriers to investment at the project level is essential for selecting the most effective projects and designing the appropriate financial instruments.
• Investments and subsidies are not substitutes for supportive policies; a favorable policy environment is required for investments to be effective.
• While no single financial instrument fits all needs, adjusting specific parameters can address particular investment barriers, and national climate finance institutions require a specific level of expertise to utilize this support optimally.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2013). Addressing the barriers to climate investment. https://cdkn.org/resource/addressing-the-barriers-to-climate-investment

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. Addressing the barriers to climate investment. 2013. https://cdkn.org/resource/addressing-the-barriers-to-climate-investment.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=Addressing the barriers to climate investment |date=8 November 2013 |url=https://cdkn.org/resource/addressing-the-barriers-to-climate-investment |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2013addressing, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{Addressing the barriers to climate investment}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2013}, month = nov, url = {https://cdkn.org/resource/addressing-the-barriers-to-climate-investment}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }