CLIMATE INVESTMENT FUNDS

The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) was established in 2008 to mobilize resources and trigger investments for low-carbon, climate resilient development in select middle income and developing countries. To date, 14 contributor countries have pledged over US$ 8.5 billion to CIF, which is expected to leverage an additional $61 billion in co-financing for mitigation and adaptation interventions at an unprecedented scale in 72 recipient countries. CIF’s large-scale, low-cost, long-term financing lowers the risk and cost of climate financing. It tests new business models, builds track records in unproven markets, and boosts investor confidence to unlock additional sources of finance. The CIF is the largest active climate finance mechanism in the world.



While CIF’s stakeholders might be familiar with the climate impacts of its investments, there is less knowledge of the contributions that CIF’s climate programs are making to national social and economic development objectives and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These additional development impacts (sometimes called “co-benefits”) are generally difficult to assess and measure but can significantly strengthen the case for increased climate finance. To better understand the social and economic development impacts linked to climate programs, CIF is currently implementing several distinct activities. One of these activities is the portfolio-level analysis of the potential economic impacts linked with its renewable energy portfolios, the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and the Scaling Up Renewable Energy Program (SREP) using the Joint Impact Model (JIM), along with other available tools.



By joining JIM, CIF is aiming to learn from other development finance and private sector actors working on better linking development impacts to their investment portfolios, while also benefiting from the most current economic and scientific approaches to development impacts. To read more about CIF’s early learning on development impact, check out our blog post “Social and Economic Development Impacts of Climate Finance: What We’ve Learned So Far”.