Sustainable Investment Forum in New York

The responsAbility-managed climate fund was showcased as a successful model for climate financing in New York: an interview with Claudia Arce, Chairperson of the Board.

On 19 September 2017, the second Sustainable Investment Forum united 300 stakeholders from national and regional government, international finance, private industry and carbon management sectors for a day of high level discussion and debate during New York Climate Week.

Among the panelists on “Transforming Energy Infrastructure” was KfW’s Claudia Arce who chairs the responsAbility-managed energy fund focusing on climate investments in developing countries. She discussed how investments in clean energy technologies could be scaled for transformative change; how to secure investment in future low carbon technologies; and how to drive investment in off-grid applications in developing regions. We talked to Claudia Arce about the Investment Forum.

What were your expectations for the event?

The key objective was to meet and network with people active in the climate finance space, especially those involved in creating new initiatives and innovative solutions  At the same time I wanted to share what our climate fund does – and how successfully it is operating.

Claudia Arce:

“Our climate fund is a successful and proven model for public-private partnerships in climate financing.”

What was the main message you wanted to share with participants?

With a successful seven-year track record, our climate fund has proved the value of public-private partnerships for sustainable energy investments. Our tried-and-tested practical approach has enabled me to share actual experiences with opportunities and challenges of climate financing.

What was the most important learning on your side?

I was amazed to learn how mainstream the climate risk aspect has become for the private sector – it is no longer the domain of just a few CSR specialists, but very much present on management level. Many of the business leaders were asking for a carbon price to be able to better plan their business, make it more predictable. They see climate risk as an integral part of their business and are aware that they need to deal with it. While the US administration wants to pull out from the Paris agreement, there is a substantial community, both public and private, who don’t question it. That came as a positive surprise.