Climate Investment Funds Launch Bond Listing on LSE to Scale Climate Finance for Africa

The Climate Investment Funds Capital Markets Mechanism (CCMM) announced its bond listing program on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on November 12, marking a significant move toward unlocking climate finance from international capital markets specifically for Africa and other developing regions. This initiative, revealed at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, represents the first instance of a multilateral climate fund using its balance sheet strength to draw substantial private sector capital toward global climate resilience efforts.

The CCMM’s bond issuance seeks to mobilize climate financing at scale, targeting high-impact investments in clean energy and technology for countries with the greatest need. Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), expressed strong support, highlighting the necessity of innovative financing strategies amid declining concessional funding. “New models are needed to secure larger climate finance for developing countries, for public and private sectors,” Dr. Adesina stated. He praised the AfDB’s role in developing the foundational concept for CCMM, which the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) Trust Fund Committee deemed transformational in potential.

The Climate Investment Funds (CIF), a consortium of multilateral climate finance funds including the CTF and the Strategic Climate Fund (SCF), established CCMM to raise capital through international markets, leveraging reflows from prior CTF projects that have been implemented across developing regions over the past 16 years. Tariye Gbadegesin, CEO of CIF, emphasized the importance of this launch as a collaborative milestone in climate finance. “CCMM will mobilize private capital at scale and direct it to high-impact clean energy and clean technology investments,” she stated. “While this is an ambitious step forward, it is rooted in a 16-year track record of pioneering cutting-edge clean technologies and solutions.”

AfDB’s involvement with CCMM has progressed following a Financial Procedures Agreement signed with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which serves as CIF’s trustee. The AfDB, an Implementing Entity of CCMM, has leveraged $946 million in concessional finance from CIF since 2010, investing in 33 projects and 20 technical assistance programs across Africa, including prominent initiatives like Morocco’s Noor Concentrated Solar Power Program and South Africa’s Xina Solar Project. Notably, the Clean Technology Fund has played a central role, accounting for $646 million of these investments.

The CCMM aims to mobilize substantial capital, targeting billions in climate finance to foster resilience and clean technology in regions that face acute climate challenges. By designating 65% of financing toward public and private sectors, the initiative hopes to encourage further private sector engagement in climate action.

In tandem with this launch, Dr. Adesina highlighted CIF’s demonstrated leverage power, stating, “The CCMM marks the first time that a multilateral climate fund will use the strength of its balance sheet to unlock urgently needed climate finance. Given CIF’s track record in leveraging $10 for every dollar invested, this mechanism holds the potential to raise tens of billions in critically needed climate finance.”

With international backing and the AfDB’s commitment, CCMM represents a potentially transformative pathway to financing sustainable development and climate resilience across Africa and beyond.