Expanding public and private finance for low-carbon transport

In June of 2012, eight multilateral development banks (MDBs) committed to shift US$175 billion to sustainable transport over 10 years, presenting a rare opportunity to focus the international development community on the necessity of reforming the transport sector. Holding the MDBs accountable for this pledge can ensure greater resources for low-carbon transport in the countries that can best leverage this support to create transformational change. Through oversight, analysis, and the promotion of dialogue among donors and local and national authorities, WRI Ross Center's Energy and Climate team aims to ensure that the allocation of this commitment is efficient, effective, and catalytic for sustainable transport.

The cost of planning, developing, and operating transport networks, however, far exceeds the MDBs’ commitment and often surpasses the capacities of local governments. Particularly in emerging economies, the need to attract additional investment is critical to the realization of sustainable transport. In response, WRI Ross Center's Energy and Climate team focuses on the development and deployment of a sustainable financial strategy for low-carbon transport.

There are two main elements to this work:

• Readiness for climate finance. WRI Ross Center's Energy and Climate team focuses on i) analyzing the key challenges of the readiness for climate finance, i.e. how to access the climate finance and how to use it in a smart way; ii) providing capacity building to national and local stakeholders through training workshop and webinars; iii) providing inputs to climate funds design (GCF, NAMA facility, CTF, GEF etc.). These efforts foster the right capacities and conditions to elicit increased financing for sustainable, low-carbon transport.
• Mobilizing private investment. WRI Ross Center's Energy and Climate team is identifying cost-effective instruments—both policy and financial—to reduce risk for private investors in sustainable, low-carbon transport. The use of global and case study analyses highlights specific actions for municipal and national public agencies.