Fifth Annual Meeting of the San Giorgio Group: Expanding Green, Low-Emissions Finance

The San Giorgio Group (SGG) met in February 2016 to discuss moving climate finance from diplomacy to implementation following the Paris Agreement. Key discussions focused on the need for better tracking methodologies for the USD 100 billion goal, the role of cities in climate action, the use of climate risk insurance in vulnerable countries, and the application of innovative financial instruments like green bonds and YieldCos to scale up Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

• There are significant gaps between the climate action ambitions required to limit global temperature rise to 'well below 2°Celsius' and the actual capacity of countries to implement their Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs).
• Current climate finance tracking is often limited to the volume of funds flowing; the SGG suggests adding dimensions such as jobs created, energy access improvements, and emissions reductions to better align finance with development impacts, particularly in developing countries.
• Urgent methodological improvements are needed to establish common principles for defining adaptation finance, mobilized private finance, and the criteria for what qualifies as a 'genuinely green bond'.
• Cities face systemic challenges in raising municipal finance due to low credit ratings from poor tax collection or central government caps on credit; these can be mitigated through technical assistance, risk mitigation instruments, and innovative policies like tailored land taxes for energy efficiency.
• Climate risk insurance is a tool for transferring risk and increasing the appetite for innovative resilience technologies, but it is only viable in a 1.5-2°Celsius world; a 4°Celsius world is considered difficult to insure based on current practice.
• Regional insurance approaches, such as the African Risk Capacity Insurance Company, are more effective for developing countries than individual national approaches because they offer lower premiums through diversification.
• To mobilize private investment for NDCs, the SGG recommends using securitization instruments such as YieldCos, green bonds, and Asset Backed Securities (ABS), provided that regulatory approaches are standardized to enable asset aggregation and liquidity.
• There is a need to examine whether monetary policies in the EU and USA have sectoral biases, as central bank refinancing operations may not be sector-neutral regarding climate considerations.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2016). Fifth Annual Meeting of the San Giorgio Group: Expanding Green, Low-Emissions Finance. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/5th-Annual-Meeting-of-the-San-Giorgio-Group-Summary.pdf

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Fifth Annual Meeting of the San Giorgio Group: Expanding Green, Low-Emissions Finance. 2016. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/5th-Annual-Meeting-of-the-San-Giorgio-Group-Summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Fifth Annual Meeting of the San Giorgio Group: Expanding Green, Low-Emissions Finance |date=February 2016 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/5th-Annual-Meeting-of-the-San-Giorgio-Group-Summary.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2016fifth, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Fifth Annual Meeting of the San Giorgio Group: Expanding Green, Low-Emissions Finance}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2016}, month = feb, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/5th-Annual-Meeting-of-the-San-Giorgio-Group-Summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }