Scaling Innovative Climate Finance Instruments: Experience from the Lab

The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (the Lab) has supported 49 instruments that mobilized over USD 2.3 billion. This document identifies four critical success factors for scaling these innovations: establishing a track record, building economies of scale, assembling a robust team and governance structure, and securing strategic long-term partnerships. Through case studies of Climate Investor One, Energy Savings Insurance, and Long-Term Foreign Exchange Risk Management, the brief demonstrates how these factors enable instruments to move beyond initial implementation to broader geographic or sectoral replication.

• The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance has supported the launch of 49 instruments over six years, which have collectively mobilized more than USD 2.3 billion, with USD 800 million coming from the private sector.
• Scaling innovative climate finance is facilitated by four primary success factors: establishing a track record of fundraising and impact, building economies of scale to increase 'impact profit', maintaining a robust team and governance structure, and identifying strategic long-term partners.
• Climate Investor One (CI1) demonstrated scale by exceeding its original fundraising target of USD 530 million to reach a final close of USD 850 million in June 2019, and subsequently replicating its structure for a second facility (CI2) focused on water, oceans, and sanitation.
• Energy Savings Insurance (ESI) achieved scale through a replication pathway, expanding from initial pilots in Colombia and Mexico to other Latin American countries, Europe, and feasibility studies in India, Turkey, and Mauritius.
• The Long-Term Foreign Exchange Risk Management instrument, implemented by TCX, scaled by applying its existing currency hedging expertise to climate projects, mobilizing EUR 30 million from the German ministry BMU in 2015 and later GBP 31 million from the UK DFID in 2019.
• The Lab defines scale as activities that expand an instrument's impact (via GHG reductions, adaptation, revenue, or finance mobilized), while replication is specifically the reproduction of an instrument in a new geography or sector.

APA

Tonkonogy, B., Chu, J., & Richmond, M. (2020). Scaling Innovative Climate Finance Instruments: Experience from the Lab. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Scaling-Innovative-CF-Instruments-Nov-2020.pdf

Chicago

Tonkonogy, Bella, Jane Chu, and Morgan Richmond. Scaling Innovative Climate Finance Instruments: Experience from the Lab. Climate Policy Initiative, 2020. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Scaling-Innovative-CF-Instruments-Nov-2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tonkonogy |first1=Bella |last2=Chu |first2=Jane |last3=Richmond |first3=Morgan |title=Scaling Innovative Climate Finance Instruments: Experience from the Lab |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=November 2020 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Scaling-Innovative-CF-Instruments-Nov-2020.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tonkonogy2020scaling, author = {Tonkonogy, Bella and Chu, Jane and Richmond, Morgan}, title = {{Scaling Innovative Climate Finance Instruments: Experience from the Lab}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Scaling-Innovative-CF-Instruments-Nov-2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }