GCF Private Investment for Climate Conference paves the way for more climate finance from the private sector

Participants from over 100 countries have gathered to attend the Green Climate Fund’s second conference focusing exclusively on the private sector which opens today in Incheon, the Republic of Korea.

The three-day Private Investment for Climate Conference is designed to act as an ideas marketplace to explore how to redirect the huge amount of funds held by large banks and other institutional investors into driving climate action in developing countries.

GCF’s decision to hold this second annual private sector-focused forum reflects the Fund’s recognition that investments by businesses and other financial actors needs to be greatly increased if the world is to effectively deal with warming global temperatures.

Today, the private sector manages more than USD 210 trillion in assets but only a very minor part of it is dedicated to climate finance.

The conference offers a unique opportunity to chart ways for institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and insurance companies, to tap GCF finances to expand emerging markets of low-emission and climate resilient growth.

The conference will stimulate discussions in a number of cutting-edge areas in the growing interface between private sector activities and climate action. This includes exploring how to shift the trillions of dollars held by institutional investors, tap climate bonds to fund climate-focused action, and expand the role of financial innovation to boost climate investments in infrastructure, energy and land use.

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Michael Holness will open the conference following his key role as co-chair of the financing initiative at the UN Climate Summit in New York last month.

GCF’s Private Investment for Climate Conference is expected to help further drive the momentum of increasing private sector engagement in tackling the climate challenge which was a marked feature of the UN summit.