Asset manager BlackRock has announced that the public-private Climate Finance Partnership has secured more than $250 million in commitments from institutional investors, governments, and philanthropies.

Launched in 2018 by the governments of France and Germany, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment (formerly the Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust), and BlackRock, CFP uses blended finance to invest in climate infrastructure in emerging markets to accelerate the global transition to a low-carbon economy. With additional contributions from the Japanese government, the Quadrivium Foundation, and another private foundation, CFP raised $112.5 million in catalytic capital — exceeding its goal of $100 million — which, in turn, is being used to mobilize a broader institutional capital raise, starting with commitments from Dai-ichi Life Insurance, a European pension fund, Standard Chartered Bank, and MUFG Bank.

According to CFP, approximately $9 trillion in investments in climate infrastructure is needed for emerging markets — which are most exposed to the impacts of climate change — to derive two-thirds of their energy from renewable power by 2050. The partnership aims to invest at least $500 million in the climate infrastructure of select countries in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, with a focus on grid-connected and/or distributed renewable power generation; energy efficiency in residential, commercial, and/or industrial sectors; transmission or energy storage solutions; and ultra-low emission or electrified transportation and mobility services.

"I am excited that the Climate Finance Partnership is now aiming to bring additional institutional capital on board for investments in the energy transition in emerging markets," said Jochen Flasbarth, state secretary at the German Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety. "We are supporting this partnership because we believe that combining the strengths of the public and private sectors is necessary in order to align finance flows with low-carbon and climate-resilient development. The Paris Agreement requires nothing less from us than the climate-friendly transformation of the financial sector."

(Image credit: New York Public Library via Unsplash)