Supporting National Development Banks to Drive Investment in the Nationally Determined Contributions of Brazil, Mexico, and Chile

The report examines how domestic DFIs in Brazil, Mexico, and Chile can mobilize investment for their NDCs. While these institutions committed over US$11 billion in climate finance in 2015, the vast majority (98%) targeted mitigation, primarily in renewable energy, leaving a significant gap in adaptation and urban infrastructure. Key barriers include a lack of long-term low-cost capital, perceived poor risk-adjusted returns, and limited technical capacity to structure complex climate projects. The report recommends that governments provide clearer mandates and that multilateral development banks (MDBs) support NDBs through risk-mitigation instruments, technical assistance, and improved climate finance tracking.

• There is a substantial investment gap between current climate finance flows and the needs of NDCs in Brazil, Mexico, and Chile, particularly in energy efficiency and urban infrastructure. Annual gaps are estimated to exceed US$48 billion in Brazil, US$36 billion in Mexico, and US$2.7 billion in Chile.
• Surveyed domestic DFIs committed more than US$11 billion in climate finance in 2015, but this was overwhelmingly skewed toward mitigation (98%) and the renewable energy sector (43%).
• Climate adaptation is severely underfunded, receiving less than 2% of total climate finance from the surveyed institutions (approximately US$213-214 million).
• A primary financial barrier for NDBs is the shortage of low-cost, long-term capital, which is essential for projects like renewable energy and sustainable urban infrastructure that have long payback periods.
• Many NDBs perceive climate-relevant projects as having poor risk-adjusted returns or being 'unbankable' due to high transaction costs and perceived risks.
• There is a significant lack of technical capacity among NDBs to identify, assess, and structure climate-relevant projects, especially for adaptation and energy efficiency.
• Climate finance tracking is not systematically implemented across most surveyed institutions, which hinders the ability to measure progress against NDC goals.
• NDBs are often excluded from the development of their countries' NDCs and lack specific government mandates or quantitative targets to align their financing strategies with NDC priorities.
• The use of green bonds has proven effective in Mexico, as demonstrated by NAFIN's US$500 million international issuance for wind energy, which saw demand five times the offering.

APA

Abramskiehn, D., Hallmeyer, K., Trabacchi, C., Escalante, D., Netto, M., Cabrera, M. M., & Vasa, A. (2017). Supporting National Development Banks to Drive Investment in the Nationally Determined Contributions of Brazil, Mexico, and Chile. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Supporting-National-Development-Banks-to-Drive-Investment-in-the-Nationally-Determined-Contributions-of-Brazil-Mexico-and-Chile.pdf

Chicago

Abramskiehn, Dario, Karoline Hallmeyer, Chiara Trabacchi, Donovan Escalante, Maria Netto, Maria Margarita Cabrera, and Alexander Vasa. Supporting National Development Banks to Drive Investment in the Nationally Determined Contributions of Brazil, Mexico, and Chile. Climate Policy Initiative, 2017. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Supporting-National-Development-Banks-to-Drive-Investment-in-the-Nationally-Determined-Contributions-of-Brazil-Mexico-and-Chile.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Abramskiehn |first1=Dario |last2=Hallmeyer |first2=Karoline |last3=Trabacchi |first3=Chiara |last4=Escalante |first4=Donovan |last5=Netto |first5=Maria |last6=Cabrera |first6=Maria Margarita |last7=Vasa |first7=Alexander |title=Supporting National Development Banks to Drive Investment in the Nationally Determined Contributions of Brazil, Mexico, and Chile |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=September 2017 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Supporting-National-Development-Banks-to-Drive-Investment-in-the-Nationally-Determined-Contributions-of-Brazil-Mexico-and-Chile.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{abramskiehn2017supporting, author = {Abramskiehn, Dario and Hallmeyer, Karoline and Trabacchi, Chiara and Escalante, Donovan and Netto, Maria and Cabrera, Maria Margarita and Vasa, Alexander}, title = {{Supporting National Development Banks to Drive Investment in the Nationally Determined Contributions of Brazil, Mexico, and Chile}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2017}, month = sep, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Supporting-National-Development-Banks-to-Drive-Investment-in-the-Nationally-Determined-Contributions-of-Brazil-Mexico-and-Chile.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }