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The report analyzes the convergence of nature-based solutions (NbS) and adaptation and resilience (A&R) finance, highlighting a critical funding gap where annual global nature finance flows of USD 200 billion are only one-third of the amount needed by 2030. Through five case studies—including the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund and Wildfire Resilience Insurance—the document identifies key barriers such as the complexity of measuring outcomes in changing climates, the lack of standardized metrics, and the high upfront costs of resilience interventions. It argues that while carbon credits and regulatory standards like the EU Deforestation Regulation provide pathways, scaling requires a shift from reactive to preventive investment mindsets and the development of credible, localized impact metrics. The report concludes that reforming the development finance architecture and leveraging global frameworks like COP30 are essential to mainstreaming nature-based adaptation.

The report identifies a massive funding gap for sustainable livestock in Latin America and the Caribbean, where the sector is responsible for approximately 28% of regional emissions but receives minimal climate investment. It analyzes investment risks—including governance instability, physical climate threats like El Niño, and macroeconomic volatility—and evaluates the suitability of various public and private investors. The document proposes three scenarios: Business-as-Usual, Improved Finance Strategies (IFS), and Improved Finance and Policy Strategies (IFPS), arguing that a combination of blended finance, risk-reduction tools, and institutional reforms is necessary to transition from a heavy reliance on public funding to a diversified capital base. Specific recommendations include implementing first-loss capital, long-term loans, and natural capital accounting to unlock investment in practices such as silvopasture and sustainable feed production.

In 2024, IDFC members committed $173 billion in total green finance, a 13% decrease from 2023, though 14 of 23 responding members increased their individual commitments. Climate finance dominated at $167 billion, with mitigation finance ($140 billion) remaining the primary focus, while adaptation finance grew by 64% to $17 billion. Biodiversity finance reached $8 billion, with the largest shares directed toward water preservation. Non-OECD institutions provided 72% of climate finance and 78% of biodiversity finance, with East Asia and the Pacific emerging as the largest recipient region for both categories.

Between 2019 and 2023, Indonesia's power sector saw total reported investments of USD 38.02 billion, with fossil fuels (FF) dominating at 62% of the share. The report highlights a significant gap in 'unreported' investment in captive coal-fired power plants (CFPPs), estimated at USD 10.63 billion. While renewable energy (RE) investment reached USD 8.85 billion, it remains concentrated in baseload sources like hydropower and geothermal. Private international financial institutions are the primary drivers of fossil fuel investment, whereas RE is increasingly supported by domestic private sources. Analysis of PLN reveals that coal plants account for 46% of annual operating costs, and PLN-owned solar plants suffer from severe inefficiency with a capacity factor of only 4% compared to a 16% benchmark.

The report identifies a severe underfunding of sustainable livestock systems in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), where livestock accounts for approximately 28% of regional greenhouse gas emissions. It highlights a significant financing gap, estimating that annual flows need to increase up to 255 times to enable a transition. The analysis reveals that public investors are currently the most suitable for the sector due to higher risk tolerance, while private investment is hindered by governance risks, macroeconomic instability, and a mismatch between project scales and investor preferences. The document proposes three scenarios—Business-as-Usual, Improved Finance Strategies (IFS), and Improved Finance and Policy Strategies (IFPS)—to demonstrate how blended finance, risk-reduction tools, and regulatory reforms can attract private capital, particularly for large-scale farms in Brazil and Mexico.

The report argues that tropical forests should be central to climate strategies, moving from being viewed as a risk to a solution. It analyzes 91 countries, categorizing them by forest cover and deforestation rates, and concludes that forest protection and restoration are compatible with economic growth. To address the funding gap for restoration, the authors propose the Reversing Deforestation Mechanism (RDM), a jurisdictional, results-based payment system for net carbon removals. RDM is designed to complement existing tools like JREDD+ and the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF). Simulations suggest that at a carbon price of US$ 50 per ton, RDM could generate significant annual revenues and remove up to 2 GtCO2 per year globally in its early stages.

The Agri-Smallholder Resilience Fund (ASRF) is a USD 22.5 million blended finance vehicle designed to address a USD 7 billion agricultural credit gap in the Philippines. Managed by the agri-tech platform Mayani, the fund utilizes a three-tier capital structure—comprising senior debt (50%), junior debt (30%), and catalytic first-loss capital (20%)—to provide loans to agri-aqua cooperatives. The ASRF employs a 'whole-of-value-chain' de-risking strategy that bundles working capital with parametric insurance, corporate offtake agreements, climate-smart inputs, and cold storage infrastructure. A USD 1 million pilot targeting 2,800 farmers in the Cordillera Mountain region will precede a full rollout aiming to reach 8,800 smallholders over five years. The fund targets a debtholder internal rate of return (IRR) of approximately 9% and projects annual greenhouse gas emission reductions of 4,400 to 10,600 tonnes of CO2e for the pilot phase.

Carbon Neobank is a digital financial vehicle designed to bridge the USD 331 billion SME finance gap in Africa by integrating international carbon markets into business banking. Headquartered in Kenya, it offers three primary products: receivables loans, unsecured working capital loans, and carbon-backed term loans, targeting a USD 1 billion total addressable market. The vehicle utilizes a digital-first model, leveraging a partnership with Ecobank for geographic reach across 33 countries and employing digital Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (dMRV) to monetize emission reductions. A USD 10.8 million pilot is planned to demonstrate the model's ability to mobilize private capital and deliver climate outcomes, including an estimated 6.097 million tCO2e in emission reductions over 10 years. The bank specifically targets the agricultural sector and women-led businesses to promote an inclusive green transition.

The Clean Economy Fund (CEF) is a USD 75 million structured-equity fund targeting a financing gap for Indian climate tech companies seeking USD 1-10 million. It employs a two-stage investment approach using convertible notes for early commercialization and direct equity for early growth, supported by a 20% junior tranche to absorb downside risks from non-converting notes. The fund focuses on three verticals: industrial solutions, energy systems, and the built environment. It aims for a first close of USD 35-40 million by mid-to-late 2026, targeting a mitigation impact of 15 megatons of CO2e over ten years.

The Community Equity Opportunity Fund (CEOF), led by Meliquina Partners, is a blended finance facility designed to overcome capital and governance barriers that exclude rural and Indigenous communities from the economic benefits of the energy transition in Latin America. By providing milestone-based development loans and catalytic equity, the fund enables community co-ownership of renewable energy projects from early development through operations. The model includes a mechanism for communities to execute a leveraged buyout (LBO) of the fund's equity position approximately two years after the commercial operation date, supported by external credit guarantees. Targeting a fund size of USD 35-40 million, CEOF aims to invest in six to eight projects (15-100 MW each) in Argentina and Colombia, with a projected mobilization ratio of 10:1 for commercial capital. The fund's impact goals include avoiding 417,000 tCO2e annually and creating over 3,200 job-years over 25 years, with a specific gender strategy targeting 40% female representation in the workforce.

Climate finance for emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) surpassed USD 1 trillion in 2023, with 80% mobilized domestically. Mitigation finance dominates, accounting for 92% of flows (USD 979 billion), while adaptation finance reached USD 48 billion. China is the primary driver, providing 64% of total EMDE flows. Significant gaps remain, with annual mitigation needs estimated at USD 3.86 trillion. The report recommends strengthening domestic enabling environments, improving the quality of international finance, and increasing data transparency to scale investment.

The report argues that standard top-down cost estimation methods for energy transitions often overlook socio-spatial factors and marginalized groups. It proposes a new framework that identifies specific losses (recognitional justice), determines preventative and transformative spending (restorative justice), assigns cost burdens (distributive justice), and ensures stakeholder consensus (procedural justice). Using the planned early retirement of the Cirebon 1 coal-fired power plant as a case study, the report demonstrates how to map direct, indirect, and induced impacts across individuals, companies, and governments to more accurately calculate the financial requirements of a just transition.

IREN Agri is a blended debt fund designed to support climate-smart agriculture in West Africa, starting with a cocoa-focused pilot in Côte d’Ivoire. The vehicle combines medium-term loans, multi-year offtake agreements, and digital technical assistance via the SUTTI platform to reduce investor risk and improve smallholder resilience. The fund aims to scale from a EUR 12.5 million pilot to a EUR 100 million fund by 2028, targeting a serviceable obtainable market of over EUR 500 million across six West African countries.

The Páramo Wildfire Resilience Facility is a proposed financial vehicle designed to protect Colombia's high-elevation páramo ecosystems from catastrophic wildfires. It utilizes a two-pronged approach: a parametric insurance policy to provide rapid liquidity for emergency fire suppression and an adaptation and recovery trust fund for long-term risk mitigation and ecosystem restoration. The facility targets ecosystem service beneficiaries, such as water utilities and corporations, to fund these activities, aiming to safeguard the drinking water supply for millions of people in the Bogotá metropolitan area.

The Price Risk Facility (PRF), developed by Agtuall, is an insurance mechanism that bundles price protection into agricultural loans to stabilize smallholder farmer incomes and reduce credit risk for lenders. While India has government schemes like PMFBY for production risks, price risk remains largely unaddressed. The PRF uses a grant-funded risk pool to catalyze insurer participation and aims to scale from current pilots to insuring USD 500 million annually within three years. The facility intends to transition from pure price insurance to comprehensive revenue insurance covering both yield and price risks.

The Seeded Initiative is a financial vehicle designed to address a critical bottleneck in Brazil's restoration value chain: the lack of capital for native seedling nurseries. To meet national targets of restoring 12 million hectares by 2030, Brazil needs approximately one billion seedlings annually, but currently produces only 200 million. The initiative employs a revolving debt structure using receivables-backed credit (via CPR-F, CRA, and FIDC instruments) and blended finance to provide working capital and CAPEX support to nurseries. The model transitions from high concessional support in its Proof-of-Concept phase to market-aligned returns in its commercial and scale-up phases. If scaled to one billion seedlings per year, the initiative could enable the restoration of 670,000 to 1 million hectares, removing an estimated 8.6 to 18.3 million tons of CO2e annually.

The Tropical Resilience Fund (TREF) is a USD 100 million closed-ended mezzanine debt fund designed to bridge the 'missing middle' financing gap for nature-based ventures in the tropical belt. Managed by Impact Earth, the fund employs a blended finance structure—combining a junior first-loss tranche with senior commercial capital—to invest in nature projects, productive systems, and market catalysts. TREF focuses on enhancing climate resilience across high-value commodities such as coffee, cacao, and rice, primarily in Latin America and Southeast Asia. The fund targets a net internal rate of return (IRR) of 10% and utilizes a three-stage resilience approach involving risk mapping, resilient operating plans, and post-investment verification.

Between 2017 and 2022, Viet Nam's power sector saw a total of USD 64 billion in reported investment, with renewable energy (RE) dominating at 64.54% (USD 41.3 billion) compared to fossil fuels (FF) at 35.13% (USD 22.5 billion). RE growth was primarily driven by generous Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs) and domestic private investment, which provided approximately 80% of RE finance. In contrast, FF finance was dominated by international sources, particularly Japan for coal. While gas investment surged in 2021 as a transitional fuel, coal investment ceased in 2022 following net-zero commitments. Despite RE growth, a significant financing gap remains; BloombergNEF estimates an annual requirement of USD 30.7 billion to meet a net-zero scenario by 2030, far exceeding the USD 6 billion invested in 2023.

The Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) proposes the Automotive Component Technology Upgradation Financing Facility (AC-TUFF) to support Indian micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in transitioning from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicle (EV) value chains. The report identifies a significant investment gap and proposes a tiered capital stack combined with technical assistance to enable MSMEs to upgrade technology and processes.

The report proposes the Reversing Deforestation Mechanism (RDM), a results-based payment system designed to scale up tropical forest restoration through jurisdictional agreements. Unlike existing frameworks like JREDD+ and TFFF, which focus on halting deforestation and maintaining standing forests, RDM incentivizes net carbon removal by compensating jurisdictions for carbon captured through restoration minus emissions from deforestation and degradation. The report simulates the potential of RDM to transform tropical forests into high-impact climate assets, highlighting its potential to generate significant revenues and carbon sequestration, particularly in the Brazilian Amazon.