Implementing the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Investment needs, barriers, and opportunities

The report estimates that the U.S. requires $5.6 trillion in investment through 2035 across GGRF priority categories, with 31% needed in low-income and disadvantaged communities (LIDCs). It identifies significant gaps between current climate finance flows and these needs, citing barriers such as lack of lender capacity, low homeownership rates in minority communities, and distrust of external developers. The authors argue that the GGRF must act as a catalyst for private capital and recommend that philanthropic foundations provide early-stage technical assistance and funding for complementary services, such as home remediation, to ensure the fund's success.

• Nationwide investment needs for GGRF priority project categories are estimated at $5.6 trillion through 2035, with approximately $1.7 trillion (31%) required specifically in low-income and disadvantaged communities (LIDCs).
• Zero-emission transportation represents the largest investment need through 2035 at $4.7 trillion, dominated by light-duty electric vehicles at $4.0 trillion, of which $1.2 trillion is needed in LIDCs.
• Investment needs for net-zero buildings total $806 billion through 2035, with $259 billion needed in LIDCs; residential heat pump space heating is the highest priority within this category at $247 billion.
• Standard estimates for rooftop photovoltaic (PV) panel investment needs total $100 billion through 2035, with $28 billion needed in LIDCs, though an alternative estimate indexed to utility-scale PV suggests needs could reach $968 billion nationally.
• Current climate finance flows are insufficient to meet net-zero goals; for example, U.S. green banks deployed $1.5 billion in 2022, with $1.25 billion going to LIDCs, while total national needs for GGRF categories are estimated at $131 billion annually for 2023.
• Investment in LIDCs is hindered by supply-side barriers, including a lack of human and IT capacity among lenders, and demand-side barriers such as low homeownership rates among Black (45.9%) and Hispanic (50.1%) populations compared to non-Hispanic White populations (79%).
• Minority-owned businesses face acute financing barriers; a Federal Reserve study found only 40% of low-credit-risk minority-owned businesses were approved for full financing requests, compared to 68% of low-risk non-minority-owned businesses.
• The GGRF's success depends on catalytic funding and technical assistance (TA), with a specific role for philanthropic foundations to fund applicant support, pre-development pipeline generation, and complementary services like home remediation that are not GGRF-eligible.

APA

Grant, C., Tonkonogy, B., Liston, J., Duffie, M., Thomas, A., Sarkozy-Banoczy, S., & Lee, M. (2023). Implementing the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Investment needs, barriers, and opportunities. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/CPI-Implementing-GGRF-Interim-Report-August-2023.pdf

Chicago

Grant, Chris, Bella Tonkonogy, Jessica Liston, Maranda Duffie, Ashlee Thomas, Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy, and Michelle Lee. Implementing the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Investment needs, barriers, and opportunities. Climate Policy Initiative, 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/CPI-Implementing-GGRF-Interim-Report-August-2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Grant |first1=Chris |last2=Tonkonogy |first2=Bella |last3=Liston |first3=Jessica |last4=Duffie |first4=Maranda |last5=Thomas |first5=Ashlee |last6=Sarkozy-Banoczy |first6=Stewart |last7=Lee |first7=Michelle |title=Implementing the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Investment needs, barriers, and opportunities |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=24 August 2023 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/CPI-Implementing-GGRF-Interim-Report-August-2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{grant2023implementing, author = {Grant, Chris and Tonkonogy, Bella and Liston, Jessica and Duffie, Maranda and Thomas, Ashlee and Sarkozy-Banoczy, Stewart and Lee, Michelle}, title = {{Implementing the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Investment needs, barriers, and opportunities}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2023}, month = aug, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/CPI-Implementing-GGRF-Interim-Report-August-2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }