Mobilizing
Capital
for Climate
Solutions
The Climate Finance Fund began its journey on the 15th of September 2021.
about us
What?
The Climate Finance Fund is a philanthropic platform that helps to mobilize capital for climate solutions.
Where?
CFF focuses on China, the European Union, and the United States.
Why?
Who?
How?
video explainer
The Climate Finance Fund is a platform supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and hosted by the European Climate Foundation.
The Fund’s approach is rooted in the Hewlett Foundation’s Climate Finance Strategy.
team
Marilyn Waite
Managing Director
Climate Finance Fund
Marilyn leads the Climate Finance Fund after most recently managing the climate and clean energy finance portfolio at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
She has worked across four continents in renewable and nuclear energy and venture capital and investment. She previously led the energy practice at Village Capital, modeled and forecasted energy solutions to climate change as a Senior Research Fellow at Project Drawdown, and managed innovation projects at Orano and Framatome.
Marilyn serves on various boards and investment committes, including the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) and climate-friendly mutual fund Sphere. She has advised government entities such as the U.S. EPA and NREL.
She holds a Master’s Degree with distinction in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, magna cum laude, from Princeton University.
Marilyn is the author of Sustainability at Work: careers that make a difference and writes in a number of outlets, including the Financial Times, Forbes, and GreenBiz.
Alma
Chief Joy Officer
Climate Finance Fund
Yubai Wu
Senior Associate
Climate Finance Fund
Yubai comes from a background in education, international development and gender inclusion. She has worked for consulting firms, multi-lateral organizations, and foundations across multiple continents. She holds a Master’s degree in International Public Management, with a focus in Environment from Sciences Po Paris, and has a Bachelor’s in Sociology from Nanjing University, China. Yubai split her childhood among China, the U.S. and the Netherlands, and thus enjoys meeting people from different cultures and backgrounds. She is passionate about the environment, climate and impact investment.
thought leadership
Why natural gas is neither just nor transitional
U.S. Department of Labor: Actions to Protect Life Savings and Pensions from Threats of Climate–Related Financial Risk
U.S. SEC The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors
E.U. Response to the Public Consultation: ESG Ratings and Sustainability Risks in Credit Ratings
ISSB: Comments to Exposure Drafts IFRS S1 General Requirements and IFRS S2: Climate–related Disclosures
partners
La Nef is a French banking cooperative with a strategic priority to serve a climate-friendly just transition and the overall sustainable development of France and by extension, Europe.
Project
Increasing the climate-friendly lending capacity and communicating as a model of fossil fuel-free, sustainable banking for the French and EU banking systems.
Adasina Social Capital‘s Climate Justice criteria “aims to advance the goals of environmental sustainability in partnership with social justice movements.” They evaluate companies to determine whether they significantly contribute to climate change, lack environmentally sustainable practices, or negatively impact air and water quality. Investment criteria include: Fossil Fuels, Fossil Fuel Funding, Extractive Agriculture, Energy Usage, Rainforests & Deforestation, Carbon Emissions, Mining, Pollution, Water Management, Product Waste.
Project
Developing a climate-friendly agri-food data set for investors and providing a look into harmful climate practices in the sector.
Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) is a global partnership of financial institutions that work together to develop and implement a harmonized approach to assess and disclose the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with their loans and investments.
Project
Expanding the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials geographically and developing methodologies for more financial asset classes.
Optus Bank is a federally designated Minority Depository Institution and a U.S. Treasury Certified Community Development Financial Institution. They are committed to helping all people build wealth and improve their lives, regardless of their background or situation.
Project
Expanding capacity for climate-friendly lending and building awareness among the U.S. MDI community.
Bank for Good was born out of a coalition of organizations coming together to elevate a financial system that makes it easy for people to align their values with their financial decisions. BankForGood knew that there were great banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions committed to a fossil-free future and wanted to make it easy to find them and join the movement.
Project
Launching BankForGood platform and campaign.
Business for Climate Finance
The Impact Experience Institute is focused on building bridges among people that catalyze collaboration and investment.
Project
Serving as the secretariat for Business Climate Finance, an initiative that seeks to decarbonize corporate bank accounts and employee retirement plans using a Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) lens to advance racial equity alongside sustainability initiatives, starting with a group of leading U.S. companies.
Clean Energy Credit Union’s mission is to promote clean energy, environmental stewardship, and cooperative enterprises through the financial services they provide to their members.
Project
Expanding the lending capacity for clean energy loans.
Inclusiv‘s mission is to help low- and moderate-income people and communities achieve financial independence through credit unions. Inclusiv is dedicated to the financial empowerment of communities of color.
Project
Establishing the Center for Resiliency and Clean Energy as the premier resource for credit unions embracing strategies for climate action.Building a network of almost 200 credit union, minority depository institution, CDFI loan fund, and community bank clean energy lenders, and engaging state and federal policymakers to support increased capital and begin designing a blueprint for a more supportive and equitable policy and regulatory environment.
New Energy Nexus Shanghai (NEX Shanghai) works to support climate fintech in China. Their objective is to reduce GHG emissions through the ways citizens and institutions transact, invest, trade, and make financial decisions by deploying climate fintech innovations.
Project
Mapping the global climate fintech landscape and supporting climate fintech companies in China.
Nia Global Solutions was launched in 2013 to bring activism and impact investing into the public markets. In doing so, it developed Nia’s six solutions-focused investment themes, weaving a gender-lens throughout the investment thesis.
Project
Providing resources for retirement savers to align retirment funds with a climate safe future.
Sustainable Capital Advisors is a financial, research, and policy advisory firm with an extensive background executing innovative and inclusive capital solutions in the sustainable infrastructure ecosystem.
Project
Launching AskSustainable database of climate-friendly banking and investment products available to retail investors.
The VC Include platform was created in 2018 to accelerate investment into historically underrepresented emerging managers — women, Black, Latinx, Indigenous and LGBTQ — to drive economic growth through the power of diversity.
Project
Demonstrating that diverse-led climate funds lead to concrete climate benefits and to benefits for underserved communities.
The ZOE Institute is a think tank for new economic thinking focused on the European Union and Germany.
Project
Convening a group of high-level experts who will develop and mainstream a financial, fiscal, labor and industrial policy strategy and narrative in order to mobilize finance for phasing-out gas in Germany.
Greenhouse Gas Protocol establishes comprehensive global standardized frameworks to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains and mitigation actions.
Project
Updating the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP)
The Green Finance Forum of 60 (GF60) is an international platform on green finance, operated by Shanghai Jinsinan Institute of Finance. GF60 invites the foremost leaders and experts in green finance field and from various industries worldwide to shape the green finance development and accelerate the progress of achieving national and global goals of carbon neutrality.
Project
Shanghai Jinsinan Institute of Finance invites the foremost leaders and experts in green finance field and from various industries worldwide to shape green financial development and accelerate the progress of achieving national and global goals of carbon neutrality.
GSG is a one-stop service provider for ESG investing and sustainability with a focus on the Chinese market. They provide ESG data, research and rating services for Chinese and foreign institutional investors with a focus on Chinese listed companies, debt issuers, and credit-granting companies. GSG also provides professional services such as carbon management SaaS software platform, net-zero solutions, sustainability strategy development, green financing and ESG ratings improvement for listed companies, industrial parks, and companies in the international supply chain.
Project
Developing a publicly available platform for climate friendly investments in bonds, funds, and bank retail products.
contact
Questions?
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The Fund does not accept unsolicited grant proposals.
