UNITAR Online Catalogue
Scaling Climate Finance
Planet
Background
The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat. Its impacts are here, and they are happening now – affecting billions of people around the world on a daily basis.
The need to address climate change is therefore urgent and pressing. A failure to do so will result in significantly higher costs in the future, both to our economies and societies. But responding to climate change – by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and building resilience to climate impacts – requires a significant amount of finance.
Finance is a key enabler of climate action, but addressing climate change requires trillions of dollars of investments globally each year. We are currently channelling only a fraction of that - and this number will continue to increase as climate impacts worsen.
However, there are reasons for optimism. The volume of climate finance is expanding annually. New financing avenues are opening up. The channels and mechanisms of supply are becoming more diverse, and innovations within the coordination and supply of finance are rapidly growing.
Whether through public spending, private investment or new and innovative climate finance channels – there are increasing opportunities to scale finance for climate action. And whether you work in a Ministry of Finance, a line Ministry, a central bank or a civil society NGO – we can all play a role in maximizing these to respond to the climate challenge.
That is the mission statement of this e-learning course. We all have a role to play in Scaling Climate Finance, and this course will aim to provide participants with the knowledge, motivation, and methods to do so.
Learning Objectives
The overall goal of this 5-hour, self-paced e-learning course is to increase participants’ knowledge and understanding of the climate finance system. By the end of this e-course, participants will be able to:
- Identify key climate finance sources, instruments and mechanisms and explain how these interact to enable climate action for mitigation and adaptation
- Explain the importance of different actors and stakeholders taking on different roles and responsibilities within the climate finance system
- Outline different measures, tools and approaches that can be used to coordinate public climate finance in a more efficient and effective way
- List innovative sources, mechanisms and instruments that can provide access to new pools of capital for climate action, including from the private sector
- Explain how applying a gender equality and social inclusion lens to climate finance can ensure investments to reach at-risk and vulnerable populations
The e-learning course is designed and developed through a gender equality and social inclusion lens. Relevant case studies, examples and stories are used to demonstrate how gender equality and social inclusion can be embedded into climate finance-related planning, budgeting, and decision-making for mitigation and adaptation.
Content and Structure
The course is structured into four distinct modules and a final quiz. Each module features a mix of short introductory videos, interactive lessons, case studies, and exercises.
- Module 1: What is Climate Finance?
- Module 2: Making Public Finance Go Further for Climate Action
- Module 3: Mobilising Private and Innovative Climate Finance
- Module 4: Financing a Climate Change Plan
- Final Quiz
Methodology
To complete the course and obtain a certificate of completion, participants must successfully pass the final quiz with a score of 70% or higher within three attempts.
Targeted Audience
Many different actors have a role to play in scaling finance for climate action. While most of the tools, instruments and approaches are presented through a government or public sector lens, the course should be of interest to many different groups including:
- Policy, planning and technical staff responsible for managing or mobilising climate finance at the national and sub-national level (e.g. from central finance or planning ministries, relevant line-ministries, sub-national governments and parliamentarians)
- Individuals from relevant quasi-governmental organizations including state or central banks, state-owned enterprises and parastatals, supreme audit institutions and securities or exchange commissions
- Private sector stakeholders and market facilitations that impact and enable climate-aligned investments
- Practitioners from non-governmental organizations, civil society groups and regional or national think tanks and education and training institutes focused on climate-related issues
- Citizens interested in understanding how finance is a key enabler of climate action, to hold relevant actors to account
While many of the case studies in the course are taken from the Asia-Pacific region, the tools, instruments and approaches that are featured can be relevant and applicable to individuals from all regions around the world.