The economics and political economy of climate investment is rapidly changing. The cost of renewable energy has fallen sharply, to the point that renewables are often the most cost-effective power generation option available.
This affects where concessional finance is most needed. Clean energy investment also faces forces pulling in different directions. Shifting political priorities, tighter public budgets, more demanding environmental and social requirements, and competition for capital from other sectors are increasing barriers, while energy security concerns and, in many cases, ongoing private sector appetite for net zero investment pull in the other direction.
Over the last two decades, CIF has supported countries to accelerate the uptake of clean technologies and help reach commercial scale.
The Clean Technology Fund (CTF) is the largest of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF). It was established in 2008 to provide concessional finance for low-carbon technology in developing countries, delivered through six multilateral development banks (MDBs).
Since inception, the CTF has received $9 billion in contributed resources, and has approved $6.9 billion1 of investment across 192 projects, spanning renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy storage, transport, and, more recently, coal transition, renewable energy integration, and industrial decarbonization.
This evaluation, conducted by Itad for the CIF Evaluation and Learning Initiative, assesses what the CTF has achieved since its inception, and draws lessons to inform the fund’s continuing evolution under CIF’s New Strategic Directions.
