Green Finance for Latin America and the Caribbean Platform (GFL)

The Green Finance for Latin America and the Caribbean Platform (GFL) is a knowledge exchange Platform that has been developed to support National Development Banks (NDBs) and other institutional players in the financial market to share knowledge and information on green finance. The GFL Platform showcases the latest trends and practices in developing and promoting green finance strategies and innovative risk-sharing mechanisms to scale up private investments in environmentally friendly businesses in different sectors, including energy, manufacturing, housing, transport, agriculture, forestry and services.

GFL Initiatives include:

• The Energy Savings Insurance (ESI) Program, which addresses barriers to investment in energy efficiency through the implementation of risk mitigation instruments;
• The ESRM Environmental & Social Risks Management Program, a technical assistance program that assists NDBs in LAC with the design and implementation of Environmental & Socials Risks Managements Systems (ESMS);
• The Leveraging Green Investment (LGI) Program, which aims to mobilise private investment in commercial energy efficiency and renewable energy services and technologies by building capacity for identifying opportunities, assessing risk, and structuring bankable projects;
• Green and Sustainable Bonds, which supports the design of national strategies to incentivize domestic green and sustainable bonds markets; and 
• Building Green Finance Instruments and Systems in LAC from the experience of China (GLC), which shares best practices and experiences in promoting green finance among Chinese and LAC NDBs, financial institutions, regulators and other relevant stakeholders, and supports four NDBs in Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, and Uruguay in developing country-driven strategies to integrate green finance into their local markets, learning from and, where appropriate, adapting the experiences of Chinese institutions.

GFL was developed by the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Connectivity, Markets and Finance Division (CMF), which provides support to public and NDBs throughout the LAC region to promote green finance. CMF works with NDBs to develop and implement financial strategies and innovative risk sharing mechanisms and to promote financing opportunities for climate change mitigation activities. In recent years, the Division’s work has focused on increasing the integration of climate change and environmental concern into NDBs’ business strategies, developing green financial strategies and supporting NDBs in accessing international climate finance.