From carbon markets to curbing methane, the case for climate optimism at COP28. Even before it begins, it has become fashionable to dismiss COP28, this year’s global climate summit in Dubai, as a charade for slow-moving bureaucrats or, worse, a captive of fossil fuel interests. The case for optimism is more persuasive, writes ImpactAlpha’s Amy Cortese. The breakneck global rollout of renewable energy suggests that the low-carbon transition is not only feasible, but inevitable. The International Energy Agency expects renewables to become the world’s largest source of electricity in 2025, overtaking coal. “The difference now from even last year is the astonishing scale-up of clean energy technologies,” says Mark Campanale of CarbonTracker. At the 28th “Conference of the Parties,” the two-week global climate gathering that begins Thursday, progress is expected on goals to triple renewable energy capacity, reduce methane emissions, finalize rules for high integrity carbon credits and stand up a “loss and damages” fund to compensate lower-income countries for natural disasters and historical climate inequities.
Mission Driven Bank Fund secures $110 million for local lenders in low-income communities. The Mission Driven Bank Fund will back a pipeline of over 300 federally-insured minority depository institutions, or MDIs, and community development financial institutions, or CDFIs, to expand access to credit and other financial services in lower-wealth, rural and communities of color in the US. “The exciting part of the fund is the flexibility and the tools we have to deploy for the banks,” said Beth Bafford of Calvert Impact, which will manage the fund alongside Elizabeth Park Capital Management, a Black-led alternative asset manager. “We can do deposits. We can do equity. We can structure solutions on- or off-balance sheet.” The fund was designed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to complement the Emergency Capital Investment Program (see, “How the U.S. can boost community financial institutions to counter bank consolidation and bridge racial wealth gaps”). It is anchored by Microsoft and Truist and is targeting a $500 million final close next year.
☀️ Energy demand grows faster than clean energy supply. A boom of cheap renewable power in Europe and natural gas in the US has helped replace coal-fired generation. But global demand for electricity, especially China and India, is outstripping even the rapid growth of clean energy, leaving fossil fuels to fill the gap. (The New York Times)
Astanor Ventures appoints Thomas Nagy, ex- chief operating officer at 21st.BIO, as part-time operational partner based in Copenhagen… Hope Wandera, ex- of VU Venture Partners, joins Mercy Corp Ventures as an investment analyst… Social Finance Institute seeks a policy writer in Washington, DC… GenZero is recruiting an investment associate in Singapore.
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This week’s Agents of Impact Call continued a tradition started nearly a decade ago by Fran Seegull of the US Impact Investing Alliance …
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 29 – It’s the age-old struggle: labor vs capital, workers vs. owners. But what happens when employees get a stake in the …
ImpactAlpha, August 25 – A growing ecosystem of Native-led entrepreneurs, lenders, financial intermediaries and nonprofits are driving Indian Country’s emerging economy. “It’s kind …
ImpactAlpha, July 28 – Most historically Black colleges and universities were formed during the Reconstruction era. In the more than a century since, Spelman, …
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ImpactAlpha, Mar. 31 – The search for a universal metric to guide investments in racial justice and equitable wealth-building was…aspirational. “We are still a …
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ImpactAlpha, Feb. 9 – The fatal beating by police of Tyre Nichols in Memphis last month exposed risks to the city’s finances that have …
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 18 – Cities around the U.S. are raising low-cost capital in the municipal bond markets by highlighting intentional efforts to address long-standing …
ImpactAlpha, September 30 – Capital to support women’s economic growth and financial inclusion is flowing – finally! – in many advanced economies. In emerging …
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 19 – Investors, entrepreneurs, corporate executives and world leaders have descended on New York for Climate Week, the annual gathering alongside the …
Pension funds, with hundreds of billions in long-term assets, can be a key source of capital for impact investors and entrepreneurs. Black, Indigenous, …
The Wilmington coup of 1898 is not as well known as the Tulsa massacre of 1921. But the events of that day changed …
ImpactAlpha’s Dennis Price catches up with María Hollan, a second-generation steward of her family’s assets at Timke Ventures in Mexico City. Hollan was …
David Bank catches up with Courageous Capital Advisors’ Laurie Spengler to talk about what the mainstreaming of impact investing means for smaller impact …
Graham Singh shares the financing mechanisms that Trinity Centres Foundation is developing for repurposing churches. And, David Bank shares ImpactAlpha’s big news. Plus, …
Unicef USA’s Cristina Shapiro joins David Bank to introduce child-lens investing, a framework for considering investment harms and benefits to children, who have …
Roraj Pradhananga and Jane Swan of Veris Wealth Partners join host Monique Aiken to discuss how the wealth manager is rethinking due diligence …
Host Brian Walsh shares highlights from this week’s agents of impact call, “The employee-ownership edge,” which explored the range of opportunities for investing …
David Bank is joined by Marjorie Kelly of The Democracy Collaborative to explore the ways that impact investors both help and hinder systemic …
🎧 Impact Briefing. Host Brian Walsh chats with Amy Cortese to set the stage for the UN General Assembly and Climate Week NYC. …
David Bank catches up with Robert Munson, President of SOCAP and Managing director at the Sorenson Impact Center, who is putting together next …
Pro Mujer’s Carmen Correa joins host Monique Aiken to share how the pioneering Latin American microfinance institution’s bonds are democratizing gender lens investing …
The impact-first philosophy that Ceniarth has championed has had its fair share of challenges. But we remain convinced that it is critical to …
Private equity has a significant opportunity to create financial and societal value through sustainability. PE firms that invest in improving the management and …
Climate tech investment is booming. Since 2013, there have been more than 6,000 investors (private, public and philanthropic) in climate tech startups, and …
When UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak watered down the UK’s commitment to its Net Zero targets earlier this fall, he at least started …
Pump it up until you can feel it. Pump it up when you don’t really need it. – “Pump it Up,” Elvis Costello …
In the US, venture backed investments are failing at rates not seen since the Great Recession. The market forces slamming these companies are …
California just enacted a set of bills that together represent a huge leap forward in tackling the climate crisis. Under SB 253, about …
Five early-stage startups in Tunisia beat the odds of fundraising in a declining venture market last year, collectively raising $10.3 million with the …
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 19 – Just a year after its passage, the Inflation Reduction Act has helped kickstart new battery and EV manufacturing plants …
Hi there, Agents of Impact! Welcome to ImpactAlpha Open, our free weekly roundup of top news and opportunities in impact investing and sustainable finance. ImpactAlpha’s Cesar …
Small businesses are the growth engine for inclusive and resilient development in Africa. Yet the $330 billion annual financing gap remains stubbornly sticky …
After the US Supreme Court decision curtailing affirmative action in college admissions, 21 Democratic attorneys general powerfully came together to take a stand: …
Sustainable development? “More of the same.” Forest carbon credits? “Outside-imposed extraction.” Impact investing? “Are we really going far enough? Or are we just …
ImpactAlpha, September 8 — In 15 years in impact investing, Christopher Bentley noticed “a lot of for-profit companies focused on the criminal justice …
ImpactAlpha, August 18 – Monica Brand Engel’s advice to impact investors is this: Imperfect execution is ok. “Authentic impact is about accepting imperfection …
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 11 – Samuel Yeboah isn’t discouraged by the economic storm battering his home country of Ghana and many other emerging economies. “As …
Many investors look at promising new climate solutions and say, ‘Great, come back to me when you have traction.’ Azolla Ventures is more …
ImpactAlpha, June 30 – The first thing that Katherine Stodulka does when you meet her is suggest you meet someone else. Then she’ll …
ImpactAlpha, May 26 – A decade ago, investors pushed back against the loan products Jessica Espinoza was designing for female business owners as …
ImpactAlpha, May 12 – Nigeria-born climate entrepreneur and “professional nomad” Aina Abiodun is bullish on place-based climate innovation. “There is nothing more urgent than …
ImpactAlpha, May 5 – John Moore quit his corporate gig and moved to Philadelphia two decades ago. He found a city rich in …
ImpactAlpha, April 28 — A first generation Nigerian-American, Su Sanni grew up in East New York, Brooklyn and Jamaica, Queens. The low-income neighborhoods, …
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 21 – Attorney and academic Lourdes Germán recognized early the power of public finance. She has spent years working at firms including …
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 14 – “Net zero is not going to get us anywhere,” Ariane Mahler of Veridien Global Investors tells ImpactAlpha’s David Bank. “You …
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 1 – On this week’s podcast, host Brian Walsh is joined by John Cochrane from the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance to sort out what this week’s policy developments in Washington mean for impact investors. Plus, the headlines.
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