Catalyzing Finance for Climate Action USAID INVEST Resource guide

NOTE: The INVEST project closed in September 2024. All data is accurate as of that date, but this page is no longer being updated.

USAID plays a vital role in mitigating climate change and addressing its impacts by partnering with countries to reduce emissions, protect critical ecosystems, and transition to renewable energy – all while building resilience and increasing the flow of capital toward climate-positive investments. Through its INVEST initiative, USAID partnered with the private sector to identify and pursue opportunities for additionality and impact in climate finance. We are testing and refining new approaches to effectively implement and scale interventions to have a greater impact on climate change. Here is what we’ve learned.

A woman waters vegetables on the farm of a vegetable producer group in Malou village, Bor county, Jonglei State, South Sudan. Photo by Will Baxter, Catholic Relief Services

INVEST Data

Stories

Caribbean: Funding climate resilience

With support from INVEST, USAID and the CARICOM Development Fund launched the CARICOM Resilience Fund, focused on growth and resilience in the face of climate change. The $100 million blended finance vehicle will make investments in resilience-focused SMEs and critical infrastructure projects.

South Africa: Investing in clean energy

South Africa has faced an energy crisis for the last decade and a half, with widespread blackouts and challenges within the state-owned energy company. South Africa’s central bank estimates that the blackouts are costing the economy more than $50 million a day. In response, Power Africa, USAID, and Lion’s Head Global Partners announced a $12.1 million investment in clean energy in South Africa. The investment will create jobs and save over 328,000 tons of CO2 emissions, the equivalent of taking 70,000 cars off the road for a year.

Mexico: Empowering local communities

In Mexico, over half the land is owned by indigenous peoples and local communities. Cooperatives of community members manage natural resources and bring them to the market — from avocados to cacao to coffee. Some have been in place for decades, yet very few of them have seen any benefit from climate finance. With support from USAID, SVX Mexico mapped sustainable landscape stakeholders in southeast Mexico to identify opportunities to work from the ground up, rather than the top down, to give more power to local communities in balancing what’s best for the environment and human well-being.

Pakistan: Advancing carbon markets

Countries around the world are stepping up to set ambitious emission reduction targets. One potential tool to accelerate climate action and increase the flow of capital toward climate-positive investments is a voluntary carbon market (VCM). “By observing and verifying these gaps, we provided USAID with several workstreams that the Agency would be best positioned to support Pakistan’s VCM.”

Tunisia: Converting waste into electricity and fertilizer

“Methania gives smaller-scale dairy farmers and other relevant stakeholders in the agribusiness sector the ability to turn waste into valuable resources and start incorporating environmentally friendly solutions into their day-to-day lives."

Honduras: Renewable energy and gender equity

"Despite the environmental benefits renewable energy projects offer, conflicts between communities and project developers persist. Activists and concerned citizens protest environmental degradation and the lack of shared economic benefits for residents. The communities selected to house new power plants are most often rural and indigenous, and without proper consultation from project developers, community members are left in the dark."

Uganda: Solar energy

"Seventy percent of Uganda’s workforce is engaged in agriculture. Ensuring that this largely off-grid population can access solar applications that increase productivity, such as solar irrigation, refrigeration, and milling, has the potential to improve agricultural yields and increase incomes, all while connecting smallholder farmers to bigger markets and strengthening the agricultural sector in Uganda for the long term."

Credit: DAI

Tools + Resources

Catalyzing Private Finance for Climate Action: Learning Brief

An overview and framework of how USAID can build on its use of blended finance to continue mobilizing private investment for climate mitigation, adaptation, resilience, and enabling environment solutions. Download the learning brief and see select learning brief graphics for use in climate presentations.

Catalyzing Private Finance for Climate Action: Case Studies

Detailed analysis of eight case studies to help build an understanding of the different blended finance tools and approaches that can be used for climate action—and the role of donors in supporting them. Download the case studies.

The Action Plan for Climate and SDG Investment Mobilization

Developed in consultation with over 100 public, philanthropic, and private stakeholders, the Action Plan identifies how a small amount of public and philanthropic financial resources can act as a systemwide catalyst, combining strategically with multilateral development bank and development finance institution (MDB/DFI) investments and private capital to drive systemic change. Read the Action Plan.

Making Blended Finance Work for Climate

A significant percentage of the capital mobilized under INVEST has been channeled into climate-related efforts. In this blog, INVEST shares more about how the project is using blended finance for climate action and what key lessons we've learned using approaches like catalytic funding and transaction advisory services. Read the blog.

Guide for Conducting Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) Needs Assessment

This guidance is for USAID missions and teams aiming to assess a voluntary carbon market (VCM) within a given county. Drawing from and building on previous needs assessments processes, this document outlines the key steps, activities, and considerations to determine viable and strategically important donor-supported interventions that can accelerate VCM. Read the guide.

ClimateLinks Climate Finance Page

ClimateLinks is a global knowledge portal for USAID staff, implementing partners, and the broader community working at the intersection of climate change and international development. The climate finance sector page provides relevant resources, contributing towards USAID's goal of mobilizing $150 billion in climate finance by 2030 from public and private sources. See the climate finance webpage.

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This page is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this page are the sole responsibility of DAI and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.