Getting the most from your green: An approach to using public money effectively through green banks and other low-carbon financing

The report outlines a systematic approach to identifying and addressing financial barriers to low-carbon investment. It proposes an analysis matrix that intersects various financial stakeholders with specific barriers—such as high cost of capital, perceived risk, and split incentives—to determine where public intervention is most effective. The authors argue that dedicated institutions like green banks can be advantageous by co-housing policies to allow for flexible funding, creating a 'brain trust' of expertise, and simplifying access for consumers. The document also provides a table of existing public green infrastructure banks in the OECD, including examples from Australia, the UK, Korea, Canada, and the USA.

• The transition to a low-carbon economy is heavily influenced by the cost of financing due to the requirement for substantial up-front capital investment.
• CPI utilizes an analysis matrix to identify financial barriers by evaluating whether the needs of major stakeholders are met across several categories, including debt cost and availability, cost of capital, perceived risk, risk allocation, information/credit assessment, transaction costs, cost competitiveness, split incentives, and future market prospects.
• Dedicated green banks offer three primary advantages over existing institutions: the ability to nimbly adjust funding between mechanisms for rapid learning, easier identification of programs for consumers, and the creation of a 'brain trust' of expertise in low-carbon technologies and business models.
• Several OECD countries have established public green infrastructure banks with varying capitalizations and scopes, such as the UK Green Investment Bank with $3.8 Bn in appropriation and the Corporation Energy Finance Australia – Clean with $10 Bn in appropriation budget.

APA

Deason, J., Varadarajan, U., & Levi, P. (2015). Getting the most from your green: An approach to using public money effectively through green banks and other low-carbon financing. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Getting-the-Most-from-Your-Green-An-Approach-to-Using-Public-Money-Effectively-Through-Green-Banks-and-Other-Low-Carbon-Financing.pdf

Chicago

Deason, Jeff, Uday Varadarajan, and Patricia Levi. Getting the most from your green: An approach to using public money effectively through green banks and other low-carbon financing. Climate Policy Initiative, 2015. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Getting-the-Most-from-Your-Green-An-Approach-to-Using-Public-Money-Effectively-Through-Green-Banks-and-Other-Low-Carbon-Financing.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Deason |first1=Jeff |last2=Varadarajan |first2=Uday |last3=Levi |first3=Patricia |title=Getting the most from your green: An approach to using public money effectively through green banks and other low-carbon financing |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=December 2015 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Getting-the-Most-from-Your-Green-An-Approach-to-Using-Public-Money-Effectively-Through-Green-Banks-and-Other-Low-Carbon-Financing.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{deason2015getting, author = {Deason, Jeff and Varadarajan, Uday and Levi, Patricia}, title = {{Getting the most from your green: An approach to using public money effectively through green banks and other low-carbon financing}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2015}, month = dec, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Getting-the-Most-from-Your-Green-An-Approach-to-Using-Public-Money-Effectively-Through-Green-Banks-and-Other-Low-Carbon-Financing.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }