This publication is part of a collection of papers that analyze several of the technical and political issues in the UN climate change negotiations, including those related to climate finance and to the international adaptation framework; and how to support and encourage low-carbon and climate-resilient development. This work series was led by IDDRI and jointly prepared with experts from four Latin American & Caribbean think tanks (Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica, see A perspective from Latin American and Caribbean think tanks on climate change issues Series).
This papers offers a perspective of challenges faced to engage the private sector towards low-carbon and resilient development. It describes ways to more efficiently use the limited funds available and presents an agenda with some key objectives and proposals for 2015.
Extract :
"Targeting public finance to leverage private sector capital can help meet the several hundred billion dollars of annual low-carbon investment needed to reduce and stabilise GHG emissions. By intervening to enhance the investment attractiveness of climate change relevant markets, the public sector may harness and redirect private sector capital flows away from carbon-intensive investments and toward low-carbon development.
To improve the risk-reward calculus of investments—possibly the most important barrier when it comes to leveraging private funds—the public sector can complement support for low-carbon policies, but bold measures are needed in order to change the pattern of emissions. A minimal agenda in this line is proposed in this paper. It is also crucial to engage the productive sector and this can be accomplished through a two-fold strategy: the creation of indirect incentives for greener production patterns and the promotion of 'better behaviour' from within the sector itself.
The above also implies a more careful look at the different governance levels of the climate issue and a more focused, less ambitious agenda for the COPs."
