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This briefing from the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (The Lab) outlines the challenges and success factors associated with scaling innovative financial instruments for climate action. Based on the experience of 49 launched instruments and three specific case studies, the document identifies four critical success factors—track record, economies of scale, robust governance, and strategic partnerships—that can accelerate the transition from early-stage development to large-scale investment mobilization.

The briefing argues that the Biden administration can reclaim U.S. climate leadership by submitting a robust national climate commitment (NDC) of 45-50% emissions reductions by 2030, increasing financial support for developing countries through the Green Climate Fund and other mechanisms, and integrating climate change as a core foreign policy issue through strategic bilateral and multilateral diplomacy.

The document outlines key messages and strategies for enhancing resilience in Latin America, emphasizing the need for a regenerative economy, nature-based solutions, and the integration of urban and rural efforts. It identifies challenges such as the need for greater private sector engagement, the operationalization of the 'resilience' concept, and the impact of climate change on food insecurity. Proposed solutions include regenerative agriculture, impact-oriented investment funds, and the combination of traditional knowledge with modern science to support vulnerable populations.

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 2020 assessment of NYDF Goal 9 reveals that while nearly USD 4.7 billion in results-based finance has been committed since 2010, only 40 percent has been disbursed. The report highlights a significant gap in funding for the implementation phase of REDD+ activities and notes that carbon markets have channeled USD 2.5 billion to forests over 20 years. While private sector demand for forest carbon offsets is rising among airlines and petroleum companies, current carbon prices remain too low to meet Paris Agreement objectives. Additionally, the report details various domestic compliance schemes in countries like Australia, Canada, and China that allow for forest carbon credits.

The document argues that large-scale investment in natural infrastructure lags because research often focuses on broad valuations rather than specific business cases. It proposes a five-step approach for project champions—starting with a driver, identifying a lead beneficiary, developing a pitch, establishing partnerships, and securing catalyst funding—to bridge the gap between feasibility and finance. For funders, it recommends supporting targeted research, convening beneficiaries, helping projects achieve scale, and providing dedicated predevelopment support.

The policy brief analyzes the socio-economic and environmental vulnerabilities of Latin America exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It argues that traditional economic reactivation measures risk perpetuating structural crises and instead proposes a 'just and resilient recovery' based on four principles: climate action, decent employment, social inclusion, and long-term financing. The document outlines four priorities for governments: applying the 'no-regression' principle to avoid environmental deregulation, ensuring short-term measures align with long-term sustainability, maximizing investment in strategic sustainable sectors (such as renewable energy and regenerative agriculture), and increasing systemic resilience through economic diversification and new progress indicators beyond GDP.

The document examines the role of climate finance in Mexico, highlighting the risks posed by the elimination of the Fondo para el Cambio Climático (FCC) and the heavy concentration of public funds in the energy sector via the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE). It provides specific recommendations for the public sector to strengthen governance and technical capacity, and for the private sector to adopt green taxonomies and innovative financing mechanisms like impact investing and carbon bonds to meet Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The policy brief argues that the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the critical link between ecosystem health and human health, asserting that ecological degradation and wildlife trade are root causes of zoonotic spillover. It proposes a five-part framework for policymakers: halting ecosystem loss, reforming livestock production, regulating commercial wildlife trade, safeguarding existing conservation investments, and implementing cross-cutting 'nature-positive' economic recovery strategies. The authors emphasize that protecting nature is a cost-effective tool for both public health and financial recovery, potentially creating millions of jobs by 2030.

The document argues that the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the critical link between ecosystem health and human health, urging a recovery strategy that prioritizes the protection and restoration of nature to mitigate the risk of future zoonotic diseases.

The document argues that the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the critical link between ecosystem health and human health, urging policymakers to adopt nature-based solutions for both pandemic prevention and economic recovery. It recommends ending ecosystem degradation, reforming livestock production, regulating wildlife trade, and ensuring that economic stimulus packages include green conditionalities to avoid further environmental damage.

The paper evaluates the 2008–09 green stimulus, finding that while it supported GDP and job creation in economies like the US, China, South Korea, and the EU, it failed to create a long-term low-carbon trajectory due to a lack of structural reforms and the persistence of fossil fuel subsidies.

The authors contend that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed fragilities caused by a global economic focus on productivity over resilience, disproportionately impacting informal workers and vulnerable regions. They advocate for post-pandemic stimulus packages to prioritize inclusive governance by empowering grassroots organizations, diversifying concentrated food, energy, and finance value chains, and recognizing the interdependence of human and planetary wellbeing.

The document examines the intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and urban inequality, proposing six priority solutions to build climate-resilient and equitable cities. It highlights how the pandemic exposed systemic vulnerabilities, particularly for the urban poor in informal settlements, and argues that adaptation investments offer high benefit-cost ratios (2:1 to 10:1) and local job creation. Proposed solutions include upgrading poor settlements, building water resilience, advancing nature-based solutions, creating knowledge networks, enhancing devolved funding, and fostering peer-to-peer city collaboration.

The report outlines 30 federal policy recommendations to improve coastal resilience in the United States, emphasizing community-led planning, nature-based solutions, and equitable financing. It argues that federal policies must shift from relying on past climate data to anticipating future conditions, particularly for infrastructure and land use. Key priorities include integrating climate justice, supporting tribal sovereignty in adaptation planning, and reforming benefit-cost analysis tools to better value social and environmental outcomes. The document also advocates for the creation of a national 'green bank' and a federal climate heritage coordination office to manage the intersection of cultural preservation and climate change.

The document argues for a comprehensive AU-EU partnership on the green transition and energy access that moves beyond a risk-based lens to address Africa's developmental goals. It highlights the critical need to expand electricity access, leverage private investment through de-risking mechanisms, and integrate nexus issues such as agriculture and the digital economy. While acknowledging the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the briefing suggests the crisis offers an opportunity to redesign the partnership to ensure a just transition that includes skills development and gender mainstreaming.

The Canadian Climate Institute identifies 11 indicators to track clean growth, categorized into goals (low-carbon growth and economic resilience), catalysts (technology development, adoption, trade, and infrastructure), and foundations (jobs, affordable energy, inclusive resilience, clean air, and ecosystems). The analysis reveals that while Canada has decoupled GDP from GHGs, progress is uneven across provinces, and significant data gaps hinder comprehensive policy tracking.

The Sub-national Climate Finance Initiative (SnCF) is designed as a blended finance private equity fund paired with a grant-funded Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) to support mid-sized sustainable infrastructure in developing countries. The Fund targets a total raise of USD 750 million, consisting of a USD 150 million concessional tranche and USD 600 million in commercial capital, aiming to invest in sustainable energy, waste and sanitation, and nature-based solutions. The TAF, targeting USD 28 million, focuses on project preparation, impact certification via Gold Standard, and local government capacity building. The initiative aims to mobilize up to USD 3.8 billion in total finance, with a target of 35-50 projects across up to 20 countries. Key target markets identified include Chile, South Africa, North Macedonia, Mexico, and Jordan. The Fund projects a net IRR of 9.4% for commercial investors and 5.4% for the concessional tranche, with a goal to avoid 77 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent over the infrastructure lifetime.

The document argues for a comprehensive AU-EU partnership that integrates the green transition with Africa's broader developmental goals, such as industrialisation and employment. It highlights the critical gap in energy access—with 600 million Africans lacking electricity as of 2018—and the underutilisation of Africa's solar resources. The authors recommend using public finance to de-risk private investment in renewables and addressing 'nexus issues' linking energy to agriculture, the digital economy, and trade. It also notes the tension in countries like Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, and Mozambique, which are pursuing renewable energy while continuing to develop fossil fuel reserves.

The document outlines a 24-month readiness project requesting USD 1,312,296 to support eight Central American countries in developing a regional GCF concept note. The initiative targets the protection of the 'Five Great Forests'—transboundary forest systems spanning from Mexico to Colombia—by addressing illegal cattle ranching, strengthening Indigenous land tenure, and aligning national climate strategies (NDCs). Key activities include stakeholder mapping, vulnerability assessments for Indigenous Peoples, the creation of a land tenure database, and the development of economic models for forest-based livelihoods.