Climate Finance
Features
Institutional Impact | June 5, 2023
Forget ESG. The greening of the global economy is a boon for institutional investors.
Editor’s note: ImpactAlpha contributing editor Imogen Rose-Smith, a longtime senior writer for Institutional Investor, contributes a bi-weekly column on the policies, practices and strategies of …
Muni Impact | June 1, 2023
Impact Muni Bond: Improving water sustainability in Los Angeles
Editor’s note: ImpactAlpha has partnered with HIP Investor to highlight upcoming bond issues with social and/or environmental significance. Disclaimer: Nothing in this post …
Climate Finance | May 30, 2023
Packard and Ford foundations back Nusantara Fund to bolster climate resilience for Indonesia’s Indigenous communities
ImpactAlpha, May 30 – Indonesia is among the world’s small number of “mega bio-diverse” countries – and has one of the world’s highest …
Catalytic Capital | May 23, 2023
Appalachia emerges as a climate refuge – and its community infrastructure feels the strain
ImpactAlpha, May 23 — With its mountainous terrain, water resources and ecological diversity, the Central Appalachia region across West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina …
Impact Investing | April 26, 2023
How Biden’s climate policies are driving a clean energy transformation
ImpactAlpha, April 26 – The trio of climate and economic legislation signed into law by Joe Biden in the first two years of …
Climate Finance | April 26, 2023
Despite their climate commitments, the world’s biggest banks are still pouring billions into fossil fuels
In the seven years since the Paris Agreement was signed, companies and governments around the world have pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas …
Climate and Clean Tech | April 20, 2023
Venture capital investors in climate tech are closer to government than they might want to admit
The climate investment ecosystem has been buffeted in recent months by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the decline in climate tech …
Climate Finance | April 12, 2023
India’s urban slums have become a testbed for climate solutions. Investors are welcome to take a look
ImpactAlpha, April 12 – The Sanjaynagar slum in Ahmednagar, about 150 miles from Mumbai, was a desolate piece of marshland about the size …
Gender Smart | April 11, 2023
With climate + gender fund, Suzanne Biegel is heading for change
If and when we have met the climate challenge, a key success factor will be clear: women. If you share that thesis, you …
Muni Impact | April 6, 2023
Mass migration, stranded communities and ‘chronic’ climate disruptions challenge the muni market
ImpactAlpha, April 6 – The municipal bond market has barely begun to grapple with the risks posed by climate change, despite an escalating …
Climate Finance | April 3, 2023
Move over, BlackRock. Vanguard is the new target for climate activists.
ImpactAlpha, April 3 – Tim Buckley is not a household name like Larry Fink. That may change, as shareholder activists take their climate …
Climate Finance | March 27, 2023
Don’t mess with Texas’s lead in the low-carbon energy transition
Austin, TX – Everything’s bigger in Texas. That goes for the state’s role in the transition to a greener and cleaner economy. Texas already …
Climate Finance | March 27, 2023
Four steps to set foundations on the path to net zero
We are in a race against the clock to combat the impacts of climate change and preserve a livable planet. Philanthropy has a …
Water | March 23, 2023
Putting a ‘price on water’ and other opportunities to address the H2O crisis
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 23 – In financial markets, water is becoming the new carbon. From early stage startups and corporate supply chains to public policy …
Impact Investing | March 20, 2023
Global Innovation Lab develops new financial models to tackle climate challenges in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, March 20 – Global finance is not keeping up with the urgent challenge of decarbonizing the economy and helping communities adapt to …
Gender Smart | March 8, 2023
Frontline communities hold the keys to inclusive gender and climate finance
Good green jobs. Better climate solutions. Food security. Resilient supply chains. Increased wealth in low-income communities. And increased returns for more stakeholders. Those …
Climate Finance | March 6, 2023
India poised to lead – and test – the just energy transition
ImpactAlpha, March 6 – India is fast becoming the focus of efforts to super-charge climate funding into the Global South. Under Prime Minister …
Frontier and Growth Markets | February 27, 2023
Latin America’s impact entrepreneurs find opportunities in nature-based solutions and smarter services for low-income consumers
ImpactAlpha, February 27 – Street demonstrations, populist leaders and economic strife dominate news headlines about Latin America. Less appreciated are the entrepreneurs who …
Latin America | February 27, 2023
Root Capital and other impact investors emerge as key players in Biden’s Partnership for Central America
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 27 – The U.S.- Mexico border gets the attention. But in addressing the root causes of migration, it is long-term investments in …
Impact Investing | February 16, 2023
TPG touts strong fundraising – and results – for its climate and impact strategies
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 16 – The $135 billion investment firm, based in San Francisco and Ft. Worth, is the latest publicly listed private-equity giant …
Climate Finance | February 14, 2023
Private equity giants double down on the low-carbon transition and impact investing
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 14 – Brookfield Asset Management made waves last June when it closed fundraising for its $15 billion energy transition fund, the …
Signals | February 1, 2023
S-curves and tipping points are accelerating the low-carbon future
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 1 – The future of energy is S-shaped. Adoption of technological innovations is typically slow until they hit a tipping point, …
Climate Finance | January 26, 2023
Voluntary carbon markets face a reckoning over credit quality and environmental impact
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 25 – Are carbon markets a key pillar of climate finance, or an empty exercise in double-counting and greenwashing? After soaring …
Impact Management | January 25, 2023
To catalyze climate capital, development finance institutions are pressed to ‘publish what you fund’
ImpactAlpha, January 25 – Six trillion dollars. That’s roughly how much is needed annually to fight climate change and meet the U.N.’s Sustainable …
Climate Finance | January 10, 2023
Matching local projects with climate capital to deploy community infrastructure
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 10 – The Great Deployment is on. The capital is teed up. The technology is ready. The Inflation Reduction Act and …
Climate and Clean Tech | January 5, 2023
Electrifying ‘dollar vans’ to boost livelihoods and cut carbon in New York’s transit deserts
ImpactAlpha, January 5 — Along Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn, several informal “dollar vans” pass by for every city bus. The rides are more …
Climate Finance | January 4, 2023
Last year’s policy progress sets this year up for climate action
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 4 – The Inflation Reduction Act is the climate investment gift that promises to keep on giving. The law represents perhaps …
Climate Finance | December 19, 2022
Deadline 2030: Midway to climate marker, time to take deployment exponential
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 19 – Halfway there. When the ball drops in Times Square this year, it will ring in the critical midpoint in the …
Corporate Impact | December 14, 2022
Are Elon Musk’s Twitter escapades putting Tesla’s climate impact at risk?
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 14 – Some Tesla shareholders are frustrated that CEO Elon Musk is hurting the electric vehicle maker’s share price with his acquisition …
Climate Finance | December 8, 2022
Move over climate, here come biodiversity disclosures
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 8 – Even as a mandatory climate disclosure rule proposed by U.S. regulators hits speed bumps, efforts are underway to require …
Catalytic Capital | December 7, 2022
Circulate Capital eyes opportunities to tackle plastic waste in Latin America
ImpactAlpha, December 7 — Singapore-based investment fund Circulate Capital has spent the past two years backing projects in South and Southeast Asia focused on …
Sponsored | November 28, 2022
How the MacArthur Foundation is leveraging the ‘full continuum’ of capital to address the climate crisis
This interview is part of a partnership between ImpactAlpha and Mission Investors Exchange to present new ideas and perspectives in impact investing. Join …
Climate Finance | November 20, 2022
On deadline, COP27 wrangles with loss, damages and fossil fuels
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 21 – Exhausted negotiators from nearly 200 countries clinched a climate agreement in the wee hours Sunday as the two-week global …
Climate Finance | November 17, 2022
From carbon counting to carbon accounting: The case for Emissions Liability Management
“There does not yet exist the capacity,” Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith warned at last month’s Breakthrough Energy Summit in Seattle, for almost any …
Climate Finance | November 16, 2022
Indonesia aims to cut emissions with $300 million coal-plant deal
The Asian Development Bank is teaming up with an Indonesian fossil fuel-based power producer to decommission a 660 megawatt coal-fired power station and …
Climate Finance | November 16, 2022
Turning gaps into opportunities with the Climate Finance Tracker
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 16 – Billions of dollars in venture capital are pouring into climate tech. And hundreds of organizations, initiatives, coalitions and conferences are …
Climate Finance | November 15, 2022
New narrative of climate action: Unstoppable progress and immense opportunity
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 15 – It has become fashionable to dismiss global climate confabs like COP27 as so much “blah blah blah.” But for …
Signals | November 15, 2022
Women-led agribusinesses notch greater profits, faster growth and less risk
ImpactAlpha, November 15 – Financing smallholder farmers is difficult work. New data from Root Capital suggests that investing in women delivers the trifecta investors …
Climate Finance | November 10, 2022
At COP27, ‘loss and damages’ inches from discussion to action
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 10 – Scotland kicked off the race with $7 million. Then came $13.5 million from Denmark, $10 million from Ireland, $50 …
Climate Finance | November 10, 2022
The Rockefeller Foundation, Bezos Earth Fund, and U.S. tap private sector for energy transition funds
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 10 – Climate envoy John Kerry and the two foundations laid out plans for an Energy Transition Accelerator to generate funding …
Signals | November 9, 2022
It’s Finance Day at COP27: Here’s what’s on tap
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 9 – Developed nations are under pressure to provide more capital to low- and middle-income countries to help them grow sustainably …
Climate Finance | November 7, 2022
With progress on ‘loss and damages,’ COP27 may exceed low expectations
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 7 – No one has been expecting much from this year’s COP27 climate summit. Not the island nations and African countries …
Impact Investing | November 3, 2022
A new kind of carbon credit incentivizes fossil fuel producers to ‘keep it in the ground’
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 3 – ‘Keep it in the ground’ has long been a rallying cry for climate activists. A new company is creating …
Impact Investing | November 2, 2022
What’s at stake for climate, ESG and impact investors in the U.S. midterm elections
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 2 – The annual global climate summit known as COP27, this year in Egypt, will coincide with next week’s midterm elections …
Women Rising | November 1, 2022
Satgana raises funds for climate tech startups in Africa and Europe
ImpactAlpha, November 2 — Luxembourg-based Satgana, which means “a good company” in Sanskrit, has raised an undisclosed amount in a first close from …
Catalytic Capital | October 26, 2022
Creative finance is needed to plug gaps in global climate funding – and to rescue COP27
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 26 – Climate action is facing mighty headwinds just two weeks before the COP27 global climate summit kicks off in Sharm …
Agrifood Tech | October 25, 2022
Misfits Market finds an (im)perfect solution to the problems of food waste and surplus produce
The imperfect produce channels space took a major step forward last month, toward mainstreaming and potential adoption with the announced acquisition of Imperfect Foods by market leader Misfits …
Signals | October 24, 2022
Gender lens + climate finance = broader reach
ImpactAlpha, October 24 – Gender-lens investing’s next big thing: integrating gender considerations across climate action and other investment themes. Investors channeled more than $600 …
Impact Investing | October 20, 2022
Development finance institutions face calls for reform in the face of cascading climate and energy crises
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 21 – Embattled World Bank chief David Malpass made an about-face last week, copping to manmade global warming and the need …
Climate Finance | October 18, 2022
Rockefeller Foundation’s new climate strategy: A Q&A with Thomas Belazis
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 18 – In late July, The Rockefeller Foundation announced a major shift: it would make climate central to everything it does. …
Climate and Clean Tech | October 13, 2022
Raise Green snags $1.2 million to expand access to climate deals for retail investors
ImpactAlpha, October 13 — Somerville, Mass.-based Raise Green manages an online marketplace that helps small-scale solar developers and green ventures get financing for …
Blockchain/AI/IoT | October 6, 2022
Building and musing about blockchain-based regenerative finance in Medellin
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 6 – Blockchain eco-warriors descended on Medellin, Colombia last week to stake a claim for the role the technology can play in …
Corporate Impact | October 5, 2022
How corporations can reduce greenhouse emissions – of their retirement plans and cash deposits
Corporations have embraced net-zero. Some 322 companies have signed The Climate Pledge and even more have made public commitments to address climate change. …
Impact Investing | October 3, 2022
Seven innovative finance tools to unlock funding for climate challenges
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 3 – Climate finance is flowing, but persistent gaps remain, especially in developing nations. Creative solutions are needed to unlock private …
Impact Management | September 29, 2022
To understand the impact of electrifying schools in Colombia, ALIVE Ventures listens to parents and teachers
At Acumen Latam Impact Ventures (or ALIVE Ventures), one of our solar energy investments has reached over 100,000 beneficiaries with their solar installations …
Impact Investing | September 27, 2022
A dozen charts that map the uneven but hopeful path to a carbon-free economy
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 27 – Transitions are rarely a straight line. That is especially true of the massive global shift underway to a low-carbon economy. …
Impact Investing | September 25, 2022
Barbados debt-for-nature swap unlocks $50 million for marine conservation and ‘blue economy’
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 25 – Barbados is the latest nation to restructure its high-priced debt to free up funds for conservation. The Caribbean island …
Climate Finance | September 23, 2022
Trillions are the talk of Climate Week, as opportunities drive climate action.
ImpactAlpha, September 23 – The energy transition is moving from talk to action. Those not moving fast enough are finding themselves on the …
Climate Finance | September 22, 2022
A safe, low-carbon way to store your gold: Leave it in the ground
What’s the most eco-friendly way to mine gold? Not to mine it. Nature’s Vault, a blockchain-based finance company headquartered in Singapore, is buying …
Climate Finance | September 21, 2022
How The Good Roll and Wangara Green Ventures are saving trees and creating green jobs in Ghana
ImpactAlpha, September 21 – A startup in the Netherlands is teaming up with a fund manager in Ghana to demonstrate the green, resilient, local …
Impact Investing | September 20, 2022
Will a new EPA fund serve low- and moderate-income people? Five principles to promote success
On August 16, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, federal legislation that invests nearly $400 billion over 10 years in renewable energy …
Climate Finance | September 19, 2022
New momentum and stubborn challenges as Climate Week kicks off (Call No. 44)
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 19 – Investors, entrepreneurs, corporate executives and world leaders have descended on New York for Climate Week, the annual gathering alongside the …
Climate Finance | September 15, 2022
Overheard at India’s ‘Impact 2022’: Climate investment tipping point
ImpactAlpha, September 15 – India is experiencing a surge of interest in climate investment and innovation, thanks to the country’s bold commitments at COP26 …
Blockchain/AI/IoT | September 15, 2022
Ethereum transition points the way to a carbon-free blockchain
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 15 – By the time you read this, energy consumption equivalent to that used annually by Chile and the carbon footprint of Hong …
Climate Finance | September 15, 2022
Investors in India are betting on climate tech’s financial opportunity
ImpactAlpha, September 15 – Climate finance in India surged in 2021, reaching about $20 billion in equity, green bonds and other types of capital. …
Clean Energy | September 14, 2022
Energy Impact Partners raises €390 million for its first European fund
ImpactAlpha, September 14 — Europe leads the clean energy transition and is a key market for the low-carbon transition, says Hans Kobler of …
Impact Investing | September 13, 2022
Bringing the energy transition to every building and neighborhood, with public and private capital
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 13 – Green jobs in South Los Angeles. Low-carbon retrofits and cost savings in New York public housing. Electric vehicle and battery …
Catalytic Capital | September 12, 2022
The Climate Finance Tracker’s data-driven map for catalytic climate investors (Q&A)
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 12 – Where is capital most impactful in combating climate change? What kind of capital is needed where? And who is …
Catalytic Capital | September 8, 2022
Measuring and valuing climate adaptation to mobilize capital for low-carbon development
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 8 – Solar irrigation to increase crop yields. Clean cookstoves to improve indoor air quality. Cold storage to raise farmers’ incomes. Water …
Signals | September 1, 2022
Epic floods in Pakistan highlight gap in climate funding for emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 1 – The monsoon-season floods sweeping through Pakistan have killed more than 1,000 people, including hundreds of children, and created at …
sustainability | August 31, 2022
Organic brand Coyuchi looks to raise capital from the crowd
ImpactAlpha, August 31 — Long before sustainability became a buzzword, San Francisco-based Coyuchi was selling high-end organic cotton sheets, bath towels and other …
Green Infrastructure | August 31, 2022
Temasek and HSBC commit $150 million for green infrastructure in Southeast Asia
ImpactAlpha, August 31 — Innovative financing mechanisms could help catalyze the more than $3 trillion gap in sustainable infrastructure financing in Southeast Asia …
Climate and Clean Tech | August 29, 2022
New incentives spur building industry to take concrete steps to decarbonize cement
ImpactAlpha, August 29 — Discussions of “deep decarbonization” often turn to global production of concrete and cement, the ubiquitous building material that is …
Climate and Clean Tech | August 24, 2022
Fervo Energy rakes in $138 million for geothermal energy
ImpactAlpha, August 24 — Unlike wind and solar energy, geothermal energy offers steady, renewable power that doesn’t need storage. “Power buyers are interested …
Community Finance | August 18, 2022
Community lenders look to carve out a role for themselves in new green bank fund
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 18 – The Inflation Reduction Act, sprung from the seeming dead just three weeks ago, sprinted into law almost as fast …
Climate Finance | August 18, 2022
IFC partners with Aspiration in $10 million fund to lift quality of carbon credits
ImpactAlpha, August 18 – Forest projects that don’t remove carbon. Protection for forests that aren’t threatened. The low quality of many of the credits …
Policy Corner | August 15, 2022
From permitting to pipelines, mobilization for climate justice targets ‘poison pills’ in the Inflation Reduction Act
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 15 – As part of his deal to support the sweeping climate legislation just passed in the U.S. Congress, Sen. Joe Manchin …
Policy Corner | August 11, 2022
Eight ways the Inflation Reduction Act is resetting the climate table
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 11 – The Inflation Reduction Act hasn’t yet passed the House and already it is reframing narratives (the U.S. is a …
Policy Corner | August 10, 2022
“Green Bank” in climate bill to provide catalytic capital for renewable energy and community resilience
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 10 – It’s not the national green bank that advocates have pushed for more than a decade. But the $27 billion …
Policy Corner | August 3, 2022
Eyes on the prize: Green opportunities outweigh tax quibbles in U.S. climate bill
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 3 – So much for stakeholder capitalism. The CEO lobbying group Business Roundtable has perhaps predictably reverted to form with its …
Climate Finance | August 1, 2022
Can’t we just pay the Democratic Republic of Congo to keep its oil in the ground?
ImpactAlpha, August 1 – The biggest failure of nature conservation and restoration efforts “are the unrewarded provision of public goods and services,” the U.N. …
Climate Finance | July 19, 2022
Early-stage climate tech offers a bright spot amid the gloom
ImpactAlpha, July 19 – U.S. climate policy is in disarray. Venture capital investments are plummeting. The IPO window is shut. And crypto is …
Good Jobs | July 18, 2022
A $25 million plan to upskill and diversify the climate workforce
ImpactAlpha, Jul. 18 – The climate ground war will be won block by block, building by building (for context, see “Call No. 32: …
Signals | July 14, 2022
Is a green transition the cause – or the solution – in Sri Lanka’s crisis?
ImpactAlpha, July 14 – It was an irresistible meme: A crash transition to organic farming tanked Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector and sent the country …
United States | July 5, 2022
TPG Rise Climate backs Intersect Power’s $750 million round to scale up renewable energy infrastructure
ImpactAlpha, July 5 – San Francisco-based Intersect Power has raised $750 million in equity from TPG Rise Climate, TPG’s $7.3 billion climate impact …
Oceans | June 22, 2022
OK Doomer: These young entrepreneurs aren’t giving up on the climate or the oceans
The increasingly apocalyptic tone of the climate conversation has spurred a counter-movement calling for a different message, lest the doom and gloom extinguish …
Policy Corner | June 22, 2022
Pricing carbon could succeed where Scope 3 falls short in accounting for emissions
ImpactAlpha, June 22 – As the Securities and Exchange Commission mulls new rules for climate disclosure, investors are weighing in on what could …
Clean Energy | June 21, 2022
Mirova acquires SunFunder to expand clean energy and climate investing in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, June 21 — Paris-based Mirova, a $27 billion unit of French global asset management firm Natixis Investment Managers, is acquiring SunFunder to …
Climate Finance | June 14, 2022
For investors and companies, net-zero pledges prove easier than action
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 14 – It’s one thing to join a climate initiative, another to commit assets and yet another to align assets with those …
Climate and Clean Tech | June 8, 2022
Black-led Rheaply secures $20 million to help companies reduce waste and limit emissions
ImpactAlpha, June 8 — Chicago-based Rheaply has raised $20 million in a financing round led by Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. …
Climate and Clean Tech | June 7, 2022
Temasek commits $3.6 billion to accelerate carbon markets and climate solutions
ImpactAlpha, June 7 – Temasek, the $283 billion sovereign wealth fund in Singapore is standing up GenZero to deploy long-term and flexible capital …
Agrifood Tech | May 31, 2022
Switch Bioworks raises $4.3 million for sustainable nitrogen biofertilizer
ImpactAlpha, May 31 — Biotech companies are promising to help farmers cut down on synthetic, and expensive, nitrogen fertilizer. San Carlos, Calif.-based Switch …
Impact Investing | May 23, 2022
At elite World Economic Forum, Davos Man and Davos Woman will talk sustainability, inclusion and action
ImpactAlpha, May 23 – It’s back. As the world’s corporate and government movers and shakers gather at Davos after a two-year pandemic pause, …
Impact Investing | May 23, 2022
Global corporations commit to carbon removal tech buys in South Pole-led initiative
ImpactAlpha, May 23 – Corporations are teaming up to use their buying power to accelerate commercialization of carbon removal technology. The latest: Boston …
Features | May 16, 2022
YAPU is giving microfinance a digital upgrade with a climate twist
ImpactAlpha, May 16 – Beekeeping in Colombia. Greenhouses in Peru. Biogas stoves in Benin. Small upgrades can increase resilience to climate change for the …
Catalytic Capital | May 10, 2022
Catalytic investors sharpen their tools to accelerate commercialization of climate solutions
ImpactAlpha, May 10 – The stubborn gap in financing for early-stage innovations for years was an obstacle to the development of breakthrough climate …
Frontier and Growth Markets | May 9, 2022
High fuel prices spur Africa’s transition to electric mobility
ImpactAlpha, May 9 – Long lines at Nairobi’s gas pumps last month put the spotlight on rising prices and fuel shortages caused by …
Frontier and Growth Markets | May 2, 2022
Can off-grid solar keep focus on energy access for the poor as commercial capital arrives?
ImpactAlpha, May 2 – It’s one of the conundrums of the pandemic: commercial capital is pouring into off-grid electricity companies in Africa and …
Inclusive Economy | April 22, 2022
Call No 41: How investors are catalyzing climate capital for adaptation and equity (video)
ImpactAlpha, April 22 – The Ukraine crisis risks tipping up to 1.7 billion people — over one-fifth of humanity — into poverty, destitution …
Climate Finance | April 18, 2022
Mitigation x adaptation x equity = climate resilience
ImpactAlpha, April 18 – Resilience is the solution to another disruption. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is raising the value of local food security, distributed clean …
Impact Voices
Impact Voices | May 10, 2023
How carbon credits are driving down the costs of climate-friendly goods in Africa
Despite the valid criticisms that have surfaced about the voluntary carbon market, carbon finance is playing a critical role in catalyzing a just …
Climate Finance | April 20, 2023
Catalyzing private capital for solutions to the plastic pollution crisis
In the small town of Tangerang, just outside Jakarta, two women saw an opportunity to turn the local waste management problem into a …
Climate Finance | April 13, 2023
Four ways new AI tools can boost climate finance in emerging markets
We are entering a new era of artificial intelligence-led innovation. In emerging markets, one of the potential benefits of AI is that it …
Climate Finance | April 3, 2023
Skill sets for The Great Deployment: Zoning, permitting and project finance
A surge of funding and favorable economics have primed climate tech startups for growth. To meet the urgency of the climate crisis, everything …
Conservation | March 21, 2023
Privately owned working forests are a climate asset
When Fred van Eck, a New York investment manager, purchased 9,400 acres of Northern California and Oregon forest for timber production in the …
Impact Voices | March 21, 2023
Tree planting has gotten a bad name. Here’s how to restore its effectiveness as a climate solution.
What’s not to love about planting trees? Once considered a tried and true solution to the climate crisis, tree-growing has lately been given …
Sustaining Impact | March 9, 2023
Leveraging catalytic capital to transform economic systems in Africa
Editor’s note: This blog is part of ImpactAlpha’s series, “Sustaining Impact,” authored by participants in the Catalytic Capital Consortium (C3) Sustaining Learning Labs. Key insights …
Climate and Clean Tech | February 13, 2023
EV supply chains are riddled with human rights abuses. Tech can help eliminate them.
More electric vehicles (EVs) were sold each week of 2022 than in all of 2011. Analysts expect this explosive growth to remain unabated …
Climate Finance | January 23, 2023
Variations on a theme: Securitizing fees and taxes to finance climate adaptation
Ghana securitized an education tax to improve access to education and a petrol tax to pay off legacy debts in the banking sector. …
Climate Finance | January 4, 2023
Investing in climate entrepreneurs who think like project developers
Progress is as much about implementation as it is about invention. I wish I could lay claim to these profound words. They were …
Climate Finance | December 15, 2022
Just Energy Transition Partnerships and other ways to shift climate finance toward low-income countries
Important progress is underway on climate finance to developing countries, although you may have missed it in COP27 read-outs. The legacy of the …
Impact Voices | November 10, 2022
A future-focused agenda for COP27
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP27) that began a few days ago will allow the world to …
Policy Corner | November 2, 2022
Pursuing environmental justice through the Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act is a historic investment in marginalized communities on the frontlines of climate change. However, the bill also links renewable …
Impact Voices | September 28, 2022
Move over New York: Clean energy action shifts to industrial Pittsburgh
The spotlight may have been on Climate Week NYC last week, but 370 miles away, Pittsburgh was the site of additional high-level climate …
Climate Finance | September 19, 2022
Speeding the energy transition: A seven-point action plan
ImpactAlpha, September 19 – Clean-tech research firm Clean Edge has been tracking the investment, policy, and technology trends of the modern energy transition for …
Climate Finance | September 12, 2022
God save the King – and planet
In 1952, the 25-year-old Princess Elizabeth of York stepped down from her treetop camp in Kenya’s Aberdare National Park and became Queen Elizabeth II. On …
Impact Voices | September 7, 2022
Three shifts needed to build resilient water systems in Jackson, Miss. and other U.S. cities
The (shocking but unsurprising) sad news is that 173,000 residents of Jackson, Miss. will be out of water indefinitely. This water issue is …
Agrifood Tech | September 5, 2022
Silver linings in an uncertain fundraising market for food waste innovation
We have entered a strange and challenging funding environment brought about by inflation and economic uncertainty – the two, of course, are inevitably …
Impact Voices | August 22, 2022
Wastewater startups are helping companies reduce costs – and carbon footprints
From record-setting heatwaves and wildfires to sustainability investments and decarbonization goals, carbon emissions are getting the attention they deserve. At the same time, …
Impact Investing | August 9, 2022
How four institutional investors use climate action plans to map their paths to net zero
New York State’s $279 billion pension fund understands the importance of planning. When the New York State Common Retirement Fund announced in 2020 …
Impact Voices | July 28, 2022
Energy efficiency is critical for climate goals and global security
Europe must wean itself off of Russian oil and gas. Energy efficiency can go a long way towards alleviating the pain. Energy efficiency …
Agrifood Tech | July 27, 2022
Food banks and food donors get a tech makeover to reduce hunger – and food waste
We are living in the technological age, and a trend ReFED has been watching closely is how this is affecting food rescue, which …
Smallholder Agriculture | June 16, 2022
Investing to transform food systems in the face of a global crisis
The growing food crisis has become a global catastrophe. The combined impact of the invasion of Ukraine, climate-related disasters like droughts, and other …
Impact Voices | June 6, 2022
Africa Eats: Filling the gap in operational capital to grow Africa’s small businesses
Find great companies, add growth capital, and the result are bigger, stronger, more scalable companies. This analysis demonstrates what happens when the “missing …
Impact Voices | May 23, 2022
Invest in agriculture for its critical role in food security and climate change
More than two billion photos were taken of dinner plates in 2020, at the advent of a global pandemic. Americans have always turned …
The Reconstruction | May 11, 2022
Seven or more ways to lead with justice in climate investing
Black and Indigenous communities live on the front lines of the climate crisis – where negative health, quality of life, and economic outcomes of …
Impact Management | May 4, 2022
How CDFIs can adopt carbon accounting to lead on climate disclosure
Know what you own. A group of community development financiers is taking the lead on climate disclosure to clean up their loan portfolios. …
Impact Voices | April 21, 2022
Investing in the planet by investing in the people who know it best
ImpactAlpha, April 21 – The theme of this year’s Earth Day is “Invest in our planet.” We’ve all heard the argument: governments, NGOs, …
Regeneration | April 21, 2022
On this Earth Day, three ways to care for the earth beneath our feet
Many of the pressing issues we face today have their roots in how we treat our land and grow and eat our food. …
The Reconstruction | April 19, 2022
Black Farmer Fund is reimagining U.S. agricultural finance, on farmers’ terms
A century ago, Black farmers represented 14% of all farmers in the U.S. Now? Just 1.4%. Barriers to affordable financing have cost farmers …
Impact Voices | March 31, 2022
Tipping points of volatility: The case for climate-Sharpe ratios
Investors today are grossly overlooking one critical category of volatility: climate change. When investors seek targeted risk budgets and returns by diversifying portfolios …
Impact Voices | March 28, 2022
A human-centered approach for impact investing in climate action
Climate finance is booming, now reaching over $600 billion in 2020. Yet, as the newest IPCC report makes clear, unequal climate impacts are …
Capitalism Reimagined | March 22, 2022
How the SEC’s rules will – and won’t – solve climate change
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed landmark climate-related disclosure requirements for public companies to inform investors about the risks a changing …
Impact Voices | January 11, 2022
Energy Impact Partners builds a tech portfolio for the low-carbon transition
At EIP, the entire investment focus of our coalition is accelerating the clean energy transition. For our 33 coalition partners, which include utilities, …
Impact Voices | January 6, 2022
To address climate inequality, we need innovative finance solutions
Developed countries received $60 billion more in clean energy investments last year than developing countries according to a recent BloombergNEF survey. Poorer countries …
Impact Voices | November 22, 2021
The right capital in the right place at the right time can take climate impact beyond ‘net zero’
Since COP26 was gaveled to a close earlier this month, a flurry of hot takes and deeply considered critiques have interrogated Mark Carney’s …
Impact Voices | November 1, 2021
International cooperation and open data are key to a just transition away from fossil fuels
This week, 196 countries are gathering in Glasgow for the long-awaited COP26 climate summit. They will work to deliver on their Paris Agreement …
Climate Finance | September 9, 2021
Letter from New Orleans: Climate risk is business risk, and opportunity
Consider these statements: “Climate Risk Is Investment Risk.” “The climate crisis poses enormous financial risk to investment managers, asset owners, and businesses. These …
Climate Finance | August 25, 2021
Investing in climate-smart farms to accelerate the net-zero transition
In case you haven’t seen the headlines – or haven’t experienced the extreme weather events yourself – climate change is here. In the …
Impact Voices | August 18, 2021
Modeling long-term emissions reductions to drive climate tech investments now
The increasing flow of capital into climate solutions offers a chance to avoid the most catastrophic climate scenarios. Increased investor focus on modeling …
Impact Voices | July 26, 2021
The case for a ‘Volcker Shock’ for climate
Contemporary efforts to grapple with the climate crisis almost all come with mid-twentieth century branding: a ‘Green New Deal,’ a ‘climate moonshot,’ a …
Impact Voices | June 7, 2021
Yes, impact-first catalytic capital is still needed for early-stage climate solutions
Climate technologies have become better and more affordable. Renewable energy can compete on cost with power from coal and natural-gas plants. The improving …
Impact Voices | June 3, 2021
For climate adaptation solutions, think smaller, local and experimental
This summer, drivers in Virginia’s coastal communities will have a new way to avoid hazardous flood zones generated by climate change. It’s not …
2030 Finance | June 3, 2021
E-buses are accelerating e-mobility in Latin America
ImpactAlpha, June 3 – Fleets of zero-emission electric buses operating in Latin America were once a distant dream, especially for city dwellers commuting to …
Conservation | April 28, 2021
Who’s going to pay? Due diligence in conservation finance starts with the offtake agreement
Venture capitalists in many sectors have developed robust due-diligence practices. The conservation finance community and its catalytic investors are still learning what works. …
Impact Management | March 24, 2021
Despite climate pledges, Goldman Sachs continues fracking finance
Photo by Sobrevolando Patagonia
Africa | March 24, 2021
African agtech is boosting yields, protecting resources and raising incomes
ImpactAlpha, March 24 – Field drones. Harvesting robots. Big Data-driven farm insights. Innovative technological applications in agriculture can have a profound impact on farmers’ …
Climate and Clean Tech | January 26, 2021
Obvious’ Andrew Beebe: We have entered the climate decade
As we finally put 2020 into hindsight, the road ahead is uncertain. On the one hand, stock markets continue to thrive, and the …
Impact Voices | January 26, 2021
Retool finance to rebuild soil health
Regenerative agriculture may be in vogue, but in many ways, it’s as old as agriculture itself, as practiced by our ancestors and to …
Impact Voices | January 13, 2021
What the U.S. return to the Paris Agreement means for investors
After years of signaling its intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement to fight climate change, the United States made the decision official …
Impact Voices | December 21, 2020
Financing for climate adaptation can drive Africa’s economic development and climate goals
Power is critical to Africa’s development. At least 600 million people across the continent that don’t have access to affordable and reliable power. …
Africa | November 23, 2020
An ‘impact-first’ approach to investing for climate justice in rural communities
If you are an investor interested in learning more about how to invest in climate justice solutions, join us on December 3rd for …
2030 Finance | July 28, 2020
The world is arriving at where climate investors have long been
ImpactAlpha, July 28 – Much has been written about the link between Covid and the environment, and how Covid will prompt a new …
Catalytic Capital | June 25, 2020
Building a better post-COVID food system with investments in small businesses in developing economies
COVID-19 is – and will continue to have – a huge impact on global food and nutrition security. On the supply side, restrictions …
Asia | May 6, 2020
Helping circular economy startups in emerging markets scale their impact
The COVID-19 crisis has put into stark contrast the need for increased investment in solutions like better resilience, local job creation, affordable healthcare, …
2030 Finance | April 16, 2020
Make new mistakes: Learning from the history of climate change to tackle the COVID challenge
The global experience – and response – to COVID19 is the latest example of history repeating itself. Very rarely have we experienced events …
2030 Finance | March 2, 2020
Catalyzing capital to develop carbontech for gigaton-scale CO2 removal
The pace of international carbon dioxide emissions reduction is insufficient to limit global average temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius. Even with rapid …
2030 Finance | February 18, 2020
Listen to customers, not hypesters, about the impact of energy access
Few would dispute that for many of the 840 million people without access to electricity globally, off-grid solutions will be essential to improving …
Africa | January 23, 2020
Blending philanthropic, public and private capital to finance climate infrastructure in emerging economies
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 23 – The Climate Finance Partnership, announced this week at the World Economic Forum, showcases the catalytic power of philanthropic and public …
Beats | November 19, 2019
“Sandboxes for nature” could speed up environmental innovation
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 19 – Regulatory sandboxes are relatively new tools that provide a special exemption from standard regulation—usually in the fintech and energy …
Catalytic Capital | October 30, 2019
Getting smart about subsidies to bridge the agricultural financing gap
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 30 – The latest data suggests that financial service providers are supplying about $70 billion to rural agricultural households around the …
2030 Finance | October 15, 2019
Climate-smart private equity investors take leadership in Africa
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 15 – Climate change poses an existential threat to our societies. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Africa – the …
Agrifood Tech | October 10, 2019
Investing with a ‘nutrition lens’ to drive progress on the Sustainable Development Goals
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 10 – Poor nutrition is an untrenched global challenge that impacts many of the 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. Solving it …
2030 Finance | September 16, 2019
Investments in sustainable aquaculture point to a greener ‘blue economy’
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 16 – Aquaculture has emerged as a vital alternative to wild-caught fish, a major source of the world’s protein, as ocean …
Catalytic Capital | April 10, 2019
Key ingredient in the blended-finance blend: revenues
ImpactAlpha, April 10 – As the term “blended finance” increasingly becomes part of the global development vernacular, the phrase is popping up in …
Features | January 14, 2019
How Ceniarth is seeking higher impact on rural livelihoods – while preserving its own capital
ImpactAlpha, January 14 – Last summer, Diane Isenberg, founder of our family office Ceniarth, went public in ImpactAlpha with our firm’s pledge to …
Catalytic Capital | December 6, 2018
Changing climate means growing demand for ‘adaptation finance’
A mismatch between the growing climate crises and underinvestment in mitigation solutions such as renewable energy means more investment will be needed to …
2030 Finance | August 29, 2018
Foundations collaborate on catalytic financing to accelerate climate action
Climate change entrepreneurs and fund managers are developing innovative solutions to worldwide challenges. But too often, promising efforts languish on the drawing board …
Impact Tech | June 19, 2018
Technology ventures aim to tackle challenges of the world’s small farmers, too
Farmers have not been passively watching the technology revolution for the last 20 years. Yet most technical advances have targeted commercial farmers in …
2030 Finance | April 4, 2018
How investors can get the most climate-change impact for their bucks
By Scott P. Burger, Alicia Seiger, and Sarah Kearney ImpactAlpha, Apr. 4, 2018 –– By 2050, experts say, the world economy needs to …
2030 Finance | March 23, 2018
As shareholders get active on climate, the SEC lets companies duck votes
Many impact investors posit that holding positions in public companies leads to positive impact because of the ability to pressure management through shareholder …
Dealflow
Dealflow | June 6, 2023
Brookfield Renewable takes $360 million stake in Mumbai- based CleanMax
ImpactAlpha, June 6 — Mumbai-based CleanMax is a leading supplier of renewable energy to corporate consumers in India, managing 1.6 gigawatts of wind …
Dealflow | June 2, 2023
Fusion is heating up
ImpactAlpha, June 3 – Some $5 billion has been invested by the private sector in fusion energy startups. Last month, Microsoft inked the …
Dealflow | June 1, 2023
Boeing inks deal to buy green hydrogen from Equatic
ImpactAlpha, June 1 – Los Angeles-based Equatic’s novel technology packs a one-two punch. It produces hydrogen from seawater via renewable-powered electrolysis. At the …
Clean Energy | May 31, 2023
Sun King raises $130 million through securitization of off-grid solar payments
ImpactAlpha, May 31 – Public agencies and private companies from California to Cote d’Ivoire are leveraging cash flows to finance climate adaptation and …
United States | May 31, 2023
Opportunity Zone investors bet $5 million on a Pennsylvania factory supporting the green building transition
ImpactAlpha, May 31 – In a previous career, John Wolfington redeveloped defunct factories and brownfield sites for residential and commercial use. Now, he’s …
Low-carbon transition | May 26, 2023
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: Carbon removal
ImpactAlpha, May 26 — After soaring in 2021, voluntary markets for carbon credits slumped last year amid reports and investigations that took aim …
News and Information | May 21, 2023
CTVC secures $1.8 million to ramp up climate-tech data insights
ImpactAlpha, May 21 – Climate investor Kim Zou launched Climate Tech VC in 2020 to track trends in climate tech investing. The free …
Frontier and Growth Markets | May 21, 2023
Hybrico raises $2 million to shift cell tower operators to green energy
ImpactAlpha, May 21 – Online connectivity is now essential to economic inclusion. But in markets where grid energy isn’t reliable, online access is …
Dealflow | May 19, 2023
Odyssey raises $15 million to cut obstacles to renewables in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, May 19 – Commercial and industrial solar for business facilities, factories and shopping centers is growing in markets without reliable grid connections. …
Dealflow | May 18, 2023
Gradiant raises $225 million, becoming a billion-dollar player in water management
ImpactAlpha, May 18 – Boston-based Gradiant makes water-treatment systems for companies in essential industries, including many supporting the low-carbon transition, like minerals and …
Climate and Clean Tech | May 18, 2023
Tangible raises $3 million to help building developers measure and reduce climate impact
ImpactAlpha, May 18 – Real estate companies seeking to reduce their carbon footprints largely focus on operational carbon—how much a building emits once …
Climate Finance | May 18, 2023
Climate is a bright spot for TPG amid fundraising slowdown
ImpactAlpha, May 18 – Private equity firms are reporting tough sledding in fundraising (though there are exceptions). TPG, which hit the market last …
Climate and Clean Tech | May 17, 2023
Kensa Group secures £70 million to accelerate adoption of ground-source heat pumps in the UK
ImpactAlpha, May 17 — The UK government wants to install 600,000 heat pumps each year as a low-carbon alternative to gas boilers. Ground-source, …
Frontier and Growth Markets | May 16, 2023
M-KOPA lands $255 million in equity and impact-linked debt for financial and gender inclusion
ImpactAlpha, May 16 – M-KOPA helped build Africa’s off-grid, pay-as-you-go solar market. Now the The Nairobi-based company brands itself as a fintech company, …
Green Infrastructure | May 15, 2023
CAI backs Switch as part of a $300 million initiative to green the digital economy
ImpactAlpha, May 15 – Computers, data centers and other assets supporting the world’s growing digital appetite consume 10% of electricity worldwide. Sustainable investment …
Dealflow | May 15, 2023
Microsoft’s off-take agreement with Helion signals fusion energy is within reach
ImpactAlpha, May 15 – The timeline for commercially-viable fusion energy took a leap forward with a commitment by Helion Energy to deliver fusion …
Clean Energy | May 12, 2023
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: Brookfield bucks fundraising malaise as it eyes another mega decarbonization fund
ImpactAlpha, May 12 — Private equity funds are bracing for a challenging fundraising year. Not Brookfield Asset Management. Already this year, the Canadian …
Climate and Clean Tech | May 10, 2023
Silicon Valley Bank keeps green project finance rolling under new ownership
ImpactAlpha, May 11 – When a bank run took down Silicon Valley Bank in March, the US government stepped in to ensure depositors …
Climate Finance | May 10, 2023
Catalytic Climate Finance Facility scores $12 million to test and launch new finance tools
ImpactAlpha, May 10 – Blended-finance network Convergence has for eight years supported financial innovation and experimentation in impact investing through its design funding …
Climate and Clean Tech | May 10, 2023
UK-based Actis launches $500 million Japan-focused clean energy arm
ImpactAlpha, May 10 – London-based global sustainable infrastructure investor Actis launched a Japan-focused clean energy unit out of its fifth energy infrastructure fund, …
Clean Energy | May 8, 2023
Schmidt Family Foundation backs Nithio for clean energy access in sub-Saharan Africa
ImpactAlpha, May 8 — A $3 million investment by the former Google executive’s foundation will support off-grid solar lending to borrowers in “the …
Climate Finance | May 4, 2023
Milestones reached for trio of climate investment funds
ImpactAlpha, May 4 – The investment environment may be strained by macro trends, but fund managers are moving forward, particularly in the climate …
Frontier and Growth Markets | May 1, 2023
Beneficial Returns backs Elisur Organic to help Peru’s coffee farmers diversify their crops
ImpactAlpha, May 1 – The world’s coffee supply—and the farmers that grow it—is threatened by climate change. Some coffee specialists are trying to …
Climate Finance | April 28, 2023
Deal spotlight: Financing farming and small-business leaders in regeneration
ImpactAlpha, April 28 – Root Capital calls them “climate action leaders.” World Resources Institute calls them “regeneration champions.” Pioneering small farmers, agri-businesses and …
Frontier and Growth Markets | April 27, 2023
Brazil’s Arado raises $12 million to give smallholder farmers a tech edge
ImpactAlpha, April 27 – In one of Latin America’s most industrialized agriculture markets, Arado is doubling down on its support for small producers. …
Clean Energy | April 25, 2023
Avalanche Energy raises $40 million to build modular fusion micro-reactors
ImpactAlpha, April 25 — Fusion energy, considered the holy grail of clean energy, could be a scalable, zero-carbon source of power that avoids …
Catalytic Capital | April 24, 2023
BlueOrchard’s Green Earth Impact Fund secures $25 million from Luxembourg’s ministry of finance
ImpactAlpha, April 24 – Luxembourg’s ministry of finance has committed $25 million to BlueOrchard Finance’s Green Earth Impact Fund, which seeks to raise …
Dealflow | April 21, 2023
Deal spotlight: The new, uncomfortable reality for climate tech VC
ImpactAlpha, April 21 – Last year, climate tech investing was a bright spot in an otherwise challenging fundraising market. The talk among startups …
Agrifood Tech | April 20, 2023
Aqua-Spark invests in sustainable aquaculture startups in Vietnam and Finland
ImpactAlpha, April 20 – Aqua-Spark was one of the earliest investors in the “blue economy,” focusing on an agrifood niche at a time …
Smallholder Agriculture | April 20, 2023
AgDevCo invests $8 million in avocado farming venture in Kenya
ImpactAlpha, April 20 – Africa-focused agriculture investment group Agris is teaming up with a major Israeli avocado producer, Granot, to build a nearly …
Climate Finance | April 19, 2023
Climate tech investor Congruent raises $300 million to help portfolio co’s scale
ImpactAlpha, April 19 – Congruent Ventures has cut pre-seed, seed and Series A checks for more than 60 companies since launching in 2017. …
Canada | April 18, 2023
Canada’s Flash Forest secures $11.4 million to speed forest replanting after wildfires
ImpactAlpha, April 18 – Wildfire intensity and damage is intensifying due to climate change. Flash Forest in Ontario is using drones to jumpstart …
Dealflow | April 18, 2023
Marketplaces for federal tax credits unlock capital for green projects
ImpactAlpha, April 18 – Evergrow raised $7 million to help build out a platform for buying and selling tax credits for climate projects. …
Dealflow | April 13, 2023
MBA and other students rise to the sustainable investing challenge
ImpactAlpha, April 13 — A dozen finalists in the Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge are swapping debt for nature, tracking water credits, insuring …
Impact Tech | April 13, 2023
Scotland’s Solasta Bio’ secures £4 million for sustainable agri-inputs
ImpactAlpha, April 13 — The global market for insecticides is dominated by synthetic pesticides that are harmful to the environment and may even …
Dealflow | April 11, 2023
Blokable scores $5.5 million to build affordable modular housing units
ImpactAlpha, April 11 — New housing stock is needed to alleviate the U.S. housing affordability crisis. Sacramento-based Blokable has raised $5.5 million for …
Dealflow | April 11, 2023
AGRI3 Fund secures $13.5 million to catalyze capital for sustainable agriculture and forestry
ImpactAlpha, April 11 — AGRI3 Fund has raised $13.5 million in equity funding from the Global Environment Facility, a multilateral trust fund based …
Catalytic Capital | April 6, 2023
ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund backs seven consumer food-waste solutions
ImpactAlpha, April 6 — Berkeley-based ReFED launched the catalytic grant fund last year to provide nonprofits and for-profits $20 million in recoverable and …
Climate and Clean Tech | April 4, 2023
Decentral Energy Managers scores $12.1 million for clean energy in South Africa
ImpactAlpha, April 4 — Johannesburg-based independent power producer Decentral Energy Managers has raised $12.1 million of equity from Flyt Property Investments and Anuva …
Smallholder Agriculture | April 3, 2023
Agri-Business Capital Fund invests in four African food processing businesses
ImpactAlpha, April 3 – The Agri-Business Capital Fund, which is managed by Bamboo Capital and Injaro Investments, has inked loans totaling €2.3 million …
Dealflow | March 31, 2023
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: Climate tech in Europe
Impactalpha, March 31 — Climate tech is the fastest-growing sector in Europe. Of the $70.1 billion in funding deployed to global climate tech …
Impact Tech | March 29, 2023
Carbonaide secures €1.8 million to ramp up production of carbon-negative concrete
ImpactAlpha, March 29 – A raft of startups are developing lower-carbon construction materials for buildings, which are responsible for 40% of global carbon …
Clean Energy | March 27, 2023
Mixergy raises £9.2 million to convert hot water tanks into energy storage systems
ImpactAlpha, March 27 – Individuals wanting to lower their carbon footprints – and energy bills – are adopting solar panels, electric vehicles, heat …
Dealflow | March 24, 2023
Dealflow spotlight: Catalyzing capital for Africa’s water and sanitation infrastructure
Providing access to clean water and sanitation has long been a public-sector responsibility. But lower-income countries struggle to fund and implement critical water …
Dealflow | March 23, 2023
Piclo raises £8.3 million to add clean energy sources to electricity grids
ImpactAlpha, March 23 – London-based Piclo has developed a marketplace to help electricity system operators, which balance supply and demand on local electricity …
Dealflow | March 23, 2023
Pepsico commits $216 million to three organizations fostering regenerative agriculture in the U.S.
ImpactAlpha, March 23 – Pepsico has pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 and to support the conversion of seven million acres …
Frontier and Growth Markets | March 21, 2023
Eco.business Fund stakes $10 million to Absa Bank to boost agribusinesses’ climate resilience in Kenya
ImpactAlpha, March 21 – Eco.business Fund blends finance to support sustainable economic development in emerging markets. The Finance in Motion-managed fund inked an …
Clean Energy | March 20, 2023
Avaana Capital backs Aerem to convert India’s small businesses to solar power
ImpactAlpha, March 20 – Mumbai-based Aerem is connecting small businesses with solar installers and financing. The company estimates that businesses can cut energy …
Water | March 20, 2023
Incofin secures €36 million to invest in access to safe drinking water
ImpactAlpha, March 20 – Belgian impact investment firm Incofin has launched the Water Access Acceleration Fund with €36 million ($38.4 million) from development …
Climate and Clean Tech | March 16, 2023
Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator backs ChargerHelp and Repurpose
ImpactAlpha, March 16 — Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator is back women-led climate tech startups ChargerHelp and Repurpose. South L.A.-based ChargerHelp will use the …
Dealflow | March 15, 2023
Mirova SunFunder secures $171 million to finance the energy transition in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, March 15 – Mirova SunFunder is aiming to raise $500 million for its Gigaton Empowerment Fund to make debt investments in small-scale …
Water | March 14, 2023
British International Investment and Metito Utilities to invest in water infrastructure in Africa
ImpactAlpha, March 14 — One-third of Africans lack access to clean drinking water; two-thirds lack access to basic sanitation services. Urbanization and climate …
Dealflow | March 14, 2023
Jordan’s first green bond secures $50 million from IFC
ImpactAlpha, March 14 — Jordan Kuwait Bank issued Jordan’s first green bond to finance clean energy projects, low-carbon transportation, energy efficient real estate …
Dealflow | March 13, 2023
Off-highway vehicle electrification company ZeroNox to go public via SPAC as deadline looms
ImpactAlpha, March 13 – Special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, took the market by storm in 2020 and 2021. Nearly 250 SPACs with …
Climate and Clean Tech | March 9, 2023
Shifted Energy scores $4.3 million to deploy low-cost smart energy products to low-income households
ImpactAlpha, March 9 — Honolulu-based Shifted Energy creates “virtual power plants” out of single- and multi-family homes by connecting electrical appliances to a …
Climate Finance | March 9, 2023
MCE secures $19.5 million to boost smallholder farmers’ climate resilience
ImpactAlpha, March 9 – MCE Social Capital provides loans to small businesses and financial services firms in emerging markets that are supporting climate …
Climate Finance | March 8, 2023
Aspiration and One Small Planet back conservation venture RenewWest
ImpactAlpha, March 8 – Reforestation in California. Mangrove restoration in Mexico. Regeneration of mining land in Jamaica. Colorado-based RenewWest is vetting, developing and …
Dealflow | March 7, 2023
ImpactA scores backing from Legal & General to invest in emerging markets infrastructure
ImpactAlpha, March 7 – Health facilities, sanitation, transit and energy infrastructure in many emerging markets are starved for debt capital to finance new …
Dealflow | March 7, 2023
Aligned Climate Capital stakes Nyle Systems to $6 million for heat pumps and green jobs in Maine
ImpactAlpha, March 7 — Brewer, Maine-based Nyle Systems has raised $6 million to manufacture commercial-sized heat pump water heaters and create roughly 200 …
Dealflow | March 2, 2023
Divert raises $1.1 billion to convert food waste into renewable natural gas
ImpactAlpha, March 2 — Concord, Mass.-based company has raised $100 million in growth equity from investors including Ara Partners and Canadian oil giant …
Climate and Clean Tech | March 1, 2023
BlocPower raises $154 million to decarbonize buildings in low-income neighborhoods
ImpactAlpha, March 1 — Brooklyn-based climate tech venture BlocPower has raised $154 million in debt and equity funding to partner with municipalities in …
Dealflow | February 24, 2023
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: Black and Brown green startups
ImpactAlpha, February 24 — Founders are using their proximity to communities and their own lived experience to build climate solutions. Local accelerators and …
Dealflow | February 23, 2023
United’s Sustainable Flight Fund raises $100 million for sustainable aviation fuel
ImpactAlpha, February 23 — Chicago-based United Airlines is seeking to scale up the supply of sustainable aviation fuel to decarbonize commercial air travel. …
Oceans | February 21, 2023
IKEA’s backer stakes Ocean 14 Capital to €30 million to supercharge the blue economy
ImpactAlpha, February 21 — Ocean 14 Capital has received a $32 million from Ingka Investments, which is part of Ingka Group, the largest …
Dealflow | February 17, 2023
Deal spotlight: An old-fashioned IPO with a climate twist
ImpactAlpha, February 17 – A climate tech company has scored the biggest IPO so far in 2023. Fremont, Calif.-based Nextracker, which optimizes solar …
Climate and Clean Tech | February 16, 2023
Redwood Materials arranges $2 billion Energy Department loan for EV battery facility
ImpactAlpha, February 16 — Redwood Materials has arranged a $2 billion Energy Department Loan for an EV battery plant in McCarran, Nev. that …
Green Infrastructure | February 15, 2023
ChargerHelp scores $17.5 million to repair EV chargers and create inclusive green jobs
ImpactAlpha, February 15 — More electric vehicles on the road means more demand for EV chargers that work. Broken and unreliable chargers have …
Climate Finance | February 15, 2023
Seven blue economy startups secure seed funding to enhance climate resilience in Africa
ImpactAlpha, February 15 – Community-powered mangrove restoration. Restocking local fish supplies. A marketplace for seaweed farmers. Triggering Exponential Climate Action, or TECA, invested …
Climate Finance | February 14, 2023
Sand to Green secures $1 million to regenerate Morocco’s desert
ImpactAlpha, February 14 – France and Morocco-based Sand to Green is completing a three-year sustainable agroforestry pilot that uses valuable crops, like rosemary …
Dealflow | February 10, 2023
Deal spotlight: Investors rally behind India’s EV startups
ImpactAlpha, February 10 – It seems like there’s an announcement every week about new financing for an electric-vehicle startup in India. EVs account …
Dealflow | February 9, 2023
Therma secures $19 million to help companies manage cooling and refrigeration needs
ImpactAlpha, February 9 – Fluorinated gasses used for refrigeration are more potent greenhouse gasses than methane or CO2. One way to cut greenhouse …
Dealflow | February 9, 2023
Liminal raises $17.5 million to help EV battery makers monitor and improve production
ImpactAlpha, February 9 – Global demand for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and solar storage is forecast to grow more than 30% per …
Dealflow | February 8, 2023
Zeitview raises $55 million for inspections of wind and solar-energy assets
ImpactAlpha, February 8 — Wind and solar farms tend to be decentralized, making it difficult and expensive to inspect them. Wind turbines, for …
Green Infrastructure | February 1, 2023
Startups raise green to reduce the carbon footprints of buildings
ImpactAlpha, February 1 – Buildings account for 40% of total global carbon emissions, because of how building materials are produced, what materials are …
Climate Finance | January 31, 2023
Obvious Ventures backs Senken to finance reforestation through ‘carbon forwards’
ImpactAlpha, January 31 – Berlin and Cape Town-based Senken is a blockchain-based carbon credit trading platform. Its next offering is a form of …
Frontier and Growth Markets | January 26, 2023
Climate tech venture Ecozen raises $25 million, giving early investors a partial exit
ImpactAlpha, January 26 – Ecozen, in Pune, India, launched a decade ago to provide affordable, clean energy-fueled products for India’s smallholder farmers. The …
Dealflow | January 25, 2023
Generate Capital raises $880 million to capitalize green infrastructure boom
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 25 – Generate is an investor, owner and operator of green infrastructure, from community solar systems and municipal wastewater treatment to …
Climate and Clean Tech | January 25, 2023
Scythe Robotics raises $42 million for ‘pay-as-you-mow’ landscaping equipment
ImpactAlpha, January 25 — Gas-powered equipment like lawn mowers and leaf blowers emit more than 240 million tons of pollutants each year, according …
Smallholder Agriculture | January 23, 2023
BlueOrchard invests $5.29 million in Brazilian insurer Newe for climate resilience
ImpactAlpha. Jan. 23 – Climate-driven floods, droughts and extreme weather around the world caused more than $268 billion in costs last year. Most …
Dealflow | January 23, 2023
Bamboo Capital’s Build Fund backs Green Mountain Arabica Coffee in Rwanda
ImpactAlpha, January 23 — In Rwanda’s Karenge region, women-owned Green Mountain Arabica Coffee exports green unroasted coffee beans that it sources from 1,200 …
Low-carbon transition | January 20, 2023
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: Nature-based biotech
ImpactAlpha, January 20 — Forests, oceans and soils play a crucial role in absorbing greenhouse gas emissions – and they could use some …
Clean Energy | January 19, 2023
WeLight raises €19 million to bring solar mini-grids to rural Madagascar
ImpactAlpha, January 19 — The majority of Madagascar’s population lacks access to electricity. Triodos Investment Management, the European Investment Bank and EDFI ElectriFI …
Impact Tech | January 19, 2023
Summit Nanotech secures $50 million for sustainable lithium extraction
ImpactAlpha, January 19 — The scramble is on to commercialize sustainable lithium, which can overcome a major obstacle to the wholesale transition to …
Low-carbon transition | January 18, 2023
Sublime Systems secures $40 million to commercialize electrified zero-carbon cement
ImpactAlpha, January 18 — Mining, grinding and heating limestone to make cement, the main binding agent for concrete, releases an enormous amount of …
Climate and Clean Tech | January 18, 2023
Electrifying heavy-duty drayage trucks at California’s ports
ImpactAlpha, January 18 — The approximately 30,000 heavy-duty trucks that transport containers and bulk freight between ships and rail facilities at California’s 40 …
Dealflow | January 17, 2023
Anew Climate commits $640 million to Terra Global for nature-based carbon offsets in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, January 17 — Oakland-based Anew is the product of TPG Rise’s rollup last year of Element Markets and Bluesource (for background, see …
Dealflow | January 13, 2023
Deal spotlight: Climate SPAC déjà vu
ImpactAlpha, January 13 – Spanish green hydrogen developer H2B2 Electrolysis Technologies this week announced plans to go public via acquisition. The news follows …
Climate Finance | January 12, 2023
Goldman Sachs climate fund hits $1.6 billion
ImpactAlpha, January 12 – Goldman Sachs Asset Management has raised $1.6 billion for its climate-focused Horizon fund. Horizon makes growth-stage investments of up to …
Dealflow | January 11, 2023
Generate bets on Sedron Technologies’ municipal wastewater treatment
ImpactAlpha, January 11 — Generate Capital, the San Francisco-based sustainable infrastructure financier and operator, launched Generate Upcycle last year to expand into recycling, …
Dealflow | January 10, 2023
Commerz Real’s Klimavest real assets impact fund crosses the billion-euro mark
ImpactAlpha, January 10 — Germany is one of several European nations that backslid on fossil fuels in order to generate power as Russia’s …
Clean Energy | January 9, 2023
A passel of clean energy deals to kick off the new year
ImpactAlpha, January 9 — Climate tech proved resilient last year relative to other VC sectors more impacted by the global economic slowdown. And …
Conservation | January 4, 2023
Conservation fund Terratai launches to invest in biodiversity startups in Indonesia
ImpactAlpha, January 4 – Indonesia is one of the most biodiverse countries on earth. Deforestation, overexploitation of natural resources, climate change and other …
Climate Finance | December 14, 2022
HSBC-backed Climate Asset Management raises $650 million for natural capital funds.
ImpactAlpha, December 14 – U.K.-based Climate Asset Management launched in 2020 to prove that protection and restoration of natural resources can be attractive …
Climate Finance | December 13, 2022
Avarni clinches funding to help companies track Scope 3 emissions
ImpactAlpha, December 13 – As regulators and investors push companies to report their emissions, startups are coming to market with carbon accounting and …
Dealflow | December 12, 2022
Varaha scores $4 million to help smallholder farmers create nature-based carbon credits
ImpactAlpha, December 12 — Gurugram-based Varaha has raised $4 million in a seed financing round backed by Omnivore, RTP Global, Better Capital and …
Clean Energy | December 7, 2022
Sun King gets $10 million to finance off-grid solar in Africa
ImpactAlpha, December 7 — In Africa, millions of off-grid low-income and rural households still use dirty and expensive kerosene lamps. Solar companies, like …
Impact Investing | December 2, 2022
TPG Rise’s $7.3 billion climate plan takes shape
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 2 – Jim Coulter has gotten climate religion. Since taking the helm of TPG’s impact-focused Rise fund last year, Coulter has …
Dealflow | November 30, 2022
Swell Energy’s $120 million raise points to the energy grid of the future
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 30 – There’s a place for large, centralized power plants and the giant private equity firms that write big checks to …
Impact Investing | November 30, 2022
TPG seeds Rubicon Carbon’s carbon marketplace with $300 million
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 30 – Private equity giant TPG is the latest player to tackle the opportunity – and challenge – of buying and …
Impact Tech | November 22, 2022
Kenyan electric bus maker BasiGo scores $6.6 million to electrify mass transit
ImpactAlpha, November 22 — Kenya has emerged as Africa’s early leader in e-mobility, primarily for two- and three-wheelers. EV leaders in the country, …
Podcasts
Climate Finance | December 13, 2022
Jigar Shah on building a $140 billion ‘bridge to bankability’ for the energy transition (podcast)
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 13 – Talk about catalytic capital. With a fresh $100 billion in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act boosting its financing capacity …
Podcasts | May 27, 2022
Live-ish from Davos: Taking on the world with BlocPower and friends
ImpactAlpha, May 26 — Donnell Baird arrived at Davos this week with his partners from Brooklyn and Ithaca, where BlocPower is greening thousands …
Climate Finance | May 3, 2022
Jonathan Rose on building green, affordable communities of opportunity (podcast)
ImpactAlpha, May 3 – The Pasatiempo apartments on the edge of Silicon Valley near downtown Fremont, Calif., are a mix of market-rate and …
Impact Investing | January 19, 2022
Institutional Shift: ‘Net-zero’ becomes ‘uh-oh’ and other sustainability trends to watch in 2022 (podcast)
Getting to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions is going to mean a deep re-engineering of every industry, every corporation, every community, Equilibrium Capital’s Dave …
The Reconstruction | September 20, 2021
The Reconstruction: Redressing the past with climate-smart infrastructure for a just transition
ImpactAlpha, Sept 20 – Infrastructure is highways and bridges. And hospitals and airports; broadband, clean water, plumbing and electricity. And it all needs …
Climate Finance | August 17, 2021
Forget crypto: Here’s how to play the rising price of carbon
ImpactAlpha, August 17, 2021 – Rising demand. Shrinking supply. Higher prices. Carbon markets in Europe, California and elsewhere are finally starting to work …
Podcasts | January 13, 2021
Generate’s Jigar Shah: What’s next for sustainable infrastructure? Deployment, deployment deployment
ImpactAlpha, Jan 13 – First came solar and wind energy. Then batteries and storage. Now, a raft of better, cheaper and more sustainable …
Podcasts | December 18, 2020
Institutional Shift: The Great Burp Forward and other trends to watch in 2021
ImpactAlpha, December 18, 2020 – As it’s fit and proper to take stock of last year’s predictions before venturing new ones, we looked back …
Podcasts | December 17, 2020
Wildfires bring to the fore financing for forest resilience
Wildfires are natural. Catastrophic firestorms are not. More than 4 million acres of California burned this year, a record that included the first …
Features | September 23, 2019
Mispriced climate risks signal investment shocks – and opportunities for action
The bigger the protests, the better for investors. In a counter-intuitive shift, the estimated four million global youth climate strikers who took to …
2030 Finance | December 10, 2018
Climate signals blinking red, a test for global leadership at COP24 (updated)
Updates from COP 24 Leaders and laggards. Maersk, the world’s largest container shipper, pledged to be carbon-neutral by 2050, in the latest sign …
Climate Finance | April 3, 2018
Institutional investors come for the risk reduction, stay for the impact
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 3, 2018 –– The billionaires with their family offices command on outsized share of attention from impact fund managers. The …
Climate Finance | March 23, 2018
Which financial innovations will grow from billions to trillions?
https://medium.com/media/82d73555419e0a8a96448332079b505c/href By finding inventive ways to make social inclusion and environmental regeneration pay, innovative financing models are “internalizing positive externalities.” Too wonky? Just …
2030 Finance | November 22, 2017
Trillion-dollar question: How are the world’s biggest asset owners playing the risks ahead?
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 21 – No sooner had we recorded the latest episode of ImpactAlpha’s Returns on Investment podcast than Norway’s trillion-dollar sovereign wealth …
2030 Finance | September 22, 2017
Hurricanes add urgency to efforts to make climate resilience investable
https://medium.com/media/8c3aacc51fd93d95948bd6c177f57b9d/href We’re only beginning to tally the devastation from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and now Maria — and the wildfires in the Western U.S. and the …
2030 Finance | February 22, 2017
Why is Cleantech Still a Dirty Word for Investors?
Climate Finance https://medium.com/media/ecd55fa1f9cd2c83d228972a14902dad/href Now the 2016 numbers are in, thanks to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. And the worldwide totals are (drumroll) a drop …
2030 Finance | April 22, 2016
Turning Paris Climate Agreements Into Institutional-Ready Investments (Podcast)
https://medium.com/media/697e46c0cbcb9f523233eb5132cc226c/href But it’s going to take more than speeches or even treaties (which won’t go into effect until at least 2018, if not …
Calls
Climate Finance | September 19, 2022
New momentum and stubborn challenges as Climate Week kicks off (Call No. 44)
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 19 – Investors, entrepreneurs, corporate executives and world leaders have descended on New York for Climate Week, the annual gathering alongside the …
Inclusive Economy | April 22, 2022
Call No 41: How investors are catalyzing climate capital for adaptation and equity (video)
ImpactAlpha, April 22 – The Ukraine crisis risks tipping up to 1.7 billion people — over one-fifth of humanity — into poverty, destitution …
Call Recording | February 11, 2022
Call No. 37: Ramping up the supply of carbon reduction to meet the urgent demand (video)
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 11 – ”$100 a ton?” exclaimed CDP’s Paula DiPerna on ImpactAlpha’s Agents of Impact Call this week. “I should be popping champagne.” …
Catalytic Capital | October 29, 2021
Call No. 33: Using catalytic capital to fill climate finance gaps from the bottom up
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 29 – As the COP26 global climate summit kicks off this weekend, much of the focus will be on the massive …
The Reconstruction | October 15, 2021
Call No. 32: Black tech, green solutions for the planet and the people
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 15 – Invest in climate action for the planet – and the people. “Climate change is a public health issue, it’s a …
Call Recording | March 1, 2021
Call No. 27: Opportunities at the intersection of gender and climate
ImpactAlpha, March 1 – Capital is flowing to climate solutions. Climate bonds have topped $1 trillion. SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies are …
Features | October 19, 2020
Call No. 24: Agents of Impact converge on financing solutions to ‘light every clinic’
The people and principles needed to solve the challenges of financing solar power for frontline health clinics were represented on ImpactAlpha’s Agents of …
Call Recording | July 1, 2020
Call No. 20: Investors share experiences in getting their assets off the sidelines
“It’s a great time for new entrants, but for those of us who’ve been doing this for a while it is equally urgent to raise our game right and to not get complacent,” said Margot Brandenburg of the Ford Foundation.
Features | June 24, 2020
Call No. 19: Green infrastructure is back on the agenda
ImpactAlpha, Jun 24 – The action in climate action is shifting to infrastructure. Driven by falling price curves for renewables, mispriced risk, and …
Agents of Impact
Bold leaders. Taking action. Driving impact.