International Finance for Sustainability
Goal
To shape international investment and trade to support sustainable development and reduce environmental degradation.
Objectives
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Infrastructure and Energy for a Sustainable Future.
To promote infrastructure and energy investments that contribute to environmental sustainability and offer local economic opportunity.
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Sustainable Regional Development and Integration.
To shape regional trade and investment strategies so that they contribute to local sustainable development.
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Special Opportunities.
To respond to unique opportunities to advance sustainable development goals.
The environmental concerns facing the world today are more urgent than they were 20 years ago. The realities of climate change and global energy needs top the list of sustainable development challenges that require new thinking and action at multiple levels. Developing countries need energy and infrastructure that will contribute to local economic opportunities and offer the poor in their communities the benefits of the global economy.
There are four areas where change is necessary: 1) economic policies that stimulate investments that support sustainable development; 2) development of standards that ensure sustainable development policies are implemented; 3) social and behavioral changes that lead to a demand for policy change at local and national levels; and 4) development of alternative policies and technologies that can act as drivers for new economic investments and institutional change.
Our grantmaking in this area focuses on international investments in energy and infrastructure sectors in developing countries. Our goal is to ensure that those investments promote sustainable development. Investment decisions made in energy and infrastructure sectors will have repercussions for decades. Projects in these sectors pose serious implications for both community well-being and sensitive ecosystems.
Funding priorities for Infrastructure and Energy for a Sustainable Future
Public and private financial institutions have expanded their lending for energy and infrastructure projects, such as large hydropower facilities, oil and gas pipelines, coal-fired power plants, and roads and export corridors through rainforests.
Our grantmaking seeks to strengthen public and private financial institutions’ safeguard policies addressing large-scale dams, biodiversity, extractive industries, climate and energy, indigenous peoples, and transparency. We support NGOs in key European countries, Japan and North America as well as research institutions and global networks that will monitor and analyze energy and infrastructure investments. The grantmaking focuses on a limited number of high-impact projects.
Grants support:
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regional and global networks and organizations that monitor and analyze energy and infrastructure investments by public and private institutions; and
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intermediary, regranting organizations that provide technical assistance and capacity-building support for local, on-the-ground monitoring of energy and infrastructure projects.
Click here to view the 10 most recent grants for this program area.
Funding priorities for Sustainable Regional Development and Integration
The surge of private sector investment in developing countries has made export credit agencies and private banks more prominent actors in global investment. In addition, international financial institution-driven economic policies and investments are becoming more integrated with trade rules and processes. The connection between trade and international financial flows is most evident in the regional economic integration and infrastructure initiatives under way in Latin America. If current plans for trade liberalization and associated investments in infrastructure move forward, the damage to the environment will be significant and long term.
We seek to support civil society in Latin America to ensure that regional trade and investment strategies contribute to sustainable development. Grantmaking focuses on key, high-impact projects being considered as part of the Initiative for Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America. The projects are large scale, impact highly sensitive ecosystems and have important implications for infrastructure projects around the world.
Grants support:
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networks and organizations in South America that analyze and monitor regional trade agreements and investment strategies;
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organizations that engage parliamentarians in project monitoring and policies related to investments in energy and infrastructure; and
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organizations that monitor energy and infrastructure projects on the ground in South America.
Click here to view the 10 most recent grants for this program area.
Funding priorities for Special Opportunities
On occasion we support special projects that offer an opportunity to contribute to the overall goals of the program.
Grants support:
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NGOs and research institutions undertaking research and analysis on cutting-edge or cross-cutting issues related to international financial flows for energy and infrastructure; and
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NGOs providing technical expertise or training to strengthen the capacity of our grantees.
Very few grants are made under this objective and most are in response to current grantee needs related to research and analysis or technical assistance and training.
Click here to view the 10 most recent grants for this program area.