The Scaling Climate Finance e-course aims to increase participants' knowledge and understanding of the climate finance system. The opportunities to mobilise finance for climate action have never been greater - whether through the smarter use of public finance or unlocking new pools of private capital. If you'd like to learn about where these opportunities are, feel there isn't enough finance available to achieve your country's climate goals, or find the number of different finance tools, instruments and sources at times overwhelming - then this course is for you!
The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat. Its impacts are here, and they are happening now - affecting billions of people around the world on a daily basis. The need to address climate change is therefore urgent and pressing. A failure to do so will result in significantly higher costs in the future, both to our economies and societies. But responding to climate change - by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and building resilience to climate impacts - requires a significant amount of finance.
Finance is a key enabler of climate action, but addressing climate change requires trillions of dollars of investments globally each year. We are currently channelling only a fraction of that - and this number will continue to increase as climate impacts worsen.
However, there are reasons for optimism. The volume of climate finance is expanding annually. New financing avenues are opening up. The channels and mechanisms of supply are becoming more diverse, and innovations within the coordination and supply of finance are rapidly growing.
Whether through public spending, private investment or new and innovative climate finance channels - there are increasing opportunities to scale finance for climate action. And whether you work in a Ministry of Finance, a line Ministry, a central bank or a civil society NGO - we can all play a role in maximizing these to respond to the climate challenge.