The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) are among the largest multilateral climate finance vehicles in operation. They were established in 2008 by donor and recipient countries and are administered by a trustee unit at the World Bank, while project delivery runs through six partner multilateral development banks (MDBs): the World Bank, IFC, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Inter-American Development Bank.
The CIF originally comprised two trust funds:
- The Clean Technology Fund (CTF), which finances the deployment of low-carbon technologies at scale in middle-income countries — for example, concentrated solar power, grid-scale renewables, and sustainable transport.
- The Strategic Climate Fund (SCF), an umbrella for more targeted programs, including the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR), the Forest Investment Program (FIP), and Scaling Up Renewable Energy in Low Income Countries (SREP).
Newer programs launched under the CIF include initiatives focused on accelerating coal transition, nature-based solutions, renewable energy integration, smart cities, and industry decarbonization, several of which were announced around the COP26 period in 2021.
Governance is built around a Trust Fund Committee with equal representation from contributor and recipient countries, plus observers from civil society, the private sector, Indigenous Peoples, and UN agencies. Decisions are made by consensus. Funding is delivered as grants, concessional loans, guarantees, and equity, generally blended with MDB resources to mobilize larger private investment.
The CIF predates the Green Climate Fund (GCF) created under the UNFCCC and was originally intended as an interim mechanism, but it has continued operating in parallel. It is frequently cited in debates over climate finance architecture, the $100 billion developed-country pledge under the Copenhagen Accord, and questions about whether climate finance is delivered as loans versus grants — a recurring point of contention for borrower governments and civil society observers.
Example
In 2021, the Climate Investment Funds launched the Accelerating Coal Transition (ACT) program, with South Africa, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines selected among the initial pilot countries.
Frequently asked questions
The CIF were created in 2008 outside the UNFCCC and are administered through the World Bank and partner MDBs, while the Green Climate Fund was established under the UNFCCC in 2010 and has its own independent secretariat in Songdo, South Korea.
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