The Frankfurt School (FS)-UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Collaborating Centre for Climate and Sustainable Energy Finance has published its sixth newsletter, which highlights, inter alia, work the Centre has carried out to increase the resilience of microfinance institutions (MFIs), to shift finance toward climate-friendly investments and to equip professionals to become climate and renewable energy finance experts.
August 2014: The Frankfurt School (FS)-UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Collaborating Centre for Climate and Sustainable Energy Finance has published its sixth newsletter, which highlights, inter alia, work the Centre has carried out to increase the resilience of microfinance institutions (MFIs), to shift finance toward climate-friendly investments and to equip professionals to become climate and renewable energy finance experts.
According to the newsletter, the project ‘Capacity Building for MFIs with focus on Climate Finance,’ conducted jointly with the Frankfurt School International Advisory Services, has entered the implementation phase. It is assisting MFIs in Nepal and Ethiopia find financing for mitigation and adaptation projects for their clients and formulate partnerships with technical services providers.
The newsletter also summarizes a project being undertaken by the Centre and various partners to determine how private sector finance can best be engaged for climate-related activities. The study, commissioned by the European Commission, will consider the best regulatory measures, financial instruments and roles for public institutions to attract private companies to the sector.
In terms of training offered by the Centre, the newsletter recounts the experience of 18 participants from 12 countries that attended the Climate and Sustainable Energy Finance Summer Academy (CSEF-SA) held in Frankfurt, Germany, in July 2014. The course covered the different sources of climate finance, international negotiations, financial modeling and project finance. The Centre also organized workshops and analysis for the Governments of Bangladesh and Uganda to enhance their understanding of climate finance readiness. Additionally, the newsletter describes the ‘Certified Expert in Climate and Renewable Energy Finance (CECREF)’ online course launched in March 2014.
The newsletter also describes other activities, including adaptation projects, technical assistance and recent publications. [FS-UNEP Collaborating Centre Publication Webpage] [FS-UNEP Collaborating Centre Newsletter – Volume 6] [IISD RS Story on the FS-UNEP Fiduciary Standards Report] [IISD RS Story on the FS-UNEP Case Study on Benin’s National Environment Fund] [IISD RS Story on FS-UNEP Renewable Market Share Report]