Climate Finance: Mechanisms and instruments for emerging economies

The investment required to tackle climate change is unprecedented-especially in emerging economies such as India, where public finance alone cannot meet growing climate and development needs. Mobilizing private capital at scale, while using limited public and philanthropic resources strategically, is therefore critical. At the same time, stronger market foundations such as bankable project pipelines, supportive policy reform, and clear climate taxonomies are essential to unlock investment.

India has made significant strides in deploying innovative climate finance instruments, including sovereign and municipal green bonds, concessional finance, guarantees, and risk-mitigation mechanisms. These tools are increasingly being used to crowd in private capital across sectors such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, agriculture, and climate adaptation.

As climate finance ecosystems across emerging economies continue to evolve, a clearer understanding of how and where different financial instruments and mechanisms can be deployed most effectively is critical to mobilizing investment at scale. Recognizing the distinct roles of these tools can help shape blended-finance partnerships and identify opportunities where public and philanthropic capital can be used strategically to catalyze private investment.

The webinar "Climate Finance: Mechanisms and instruments for emerging economies," the final session in the IISD-IIM Calcutta climate finance series, will explore how these instruments can be designed and deployed effectively in India and other emerging economies. The webinar brings together experts from finance and research institutions. It will highlight practical lessons, remaining challenges, and opportunities to accelerate climate action at scale.

Agenda

Welcoming Remarks

Priyami Dutta, Policy Advisor, IISD

Context Setting

Swasti Raizada, Senior Policy Advisor, IISD

Panel Discussion

Moderator: Professor Mritiunjoy Mohanty, IIM Calcutta

Vibhuti Garg, Director, South Asia, The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis

Upendra Bhatt, Co-founder and Managing Director, cKinetics

Madhura Joshi, Programme Lead - Global Clean Power Diplomacy, E3G

Gaylor Montmasson-Clair, Founding Director, Southern Transition

Yanne Horas, Associate, IISD

Q&A

Closing Remarks

Professor Runa Sarkar, IIM Calcutta