Catalyzing green finance: a concept for leveraging blended finance for green development
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), in a report launched, has proposed the creation of national green financing vehicles to catalyze environmentally and financially sustainable infrastructure investments in Asia and the Pacific. The report, titled Catalyzing Green Finance: A Concept for Leveraging Blended Finance for Green Development, highlights the constraints for developing a large pipeline of bankable green infrastructure projects and calls for an integrated approach to transforming country financial systems. The report outlines the concept of a Green Finance Catalyzing Facility (GFCF), which would serve as a model for countries to create their own financing vehicles and implementing mechanisms. This would leverage public funds and policies to catalyze a blend of financing from private sources for increasing green infrastructure investments. Mobilizing additional funds from the capital markets is a major objective of these vehicles. Public funds would be used as risk mitigators to create bankable projects and crowd in private funds, technology, and efficiency improvements.