The Climate Finance initiative aims to help public sector organisations find smart ways to raise and use money to cut carbon at a time when they are under great pressure to deliver on reductions targets with limited resources. 

Alternative finance models can help organisations deliver more for less. They can raise new capital, increase efficiency and make money work harder by creating financial returns that can be reinvested. 

For instance, Kirklees’ Re-Charge scheme loans householders money to install low-carbon technologies in their property, such as solar panels to heat water. It is successful because there are no interest charges and the money does not have to be repaid until the property is sold. The council only has to subsidise the interest on the loans and this costs around three times less per home than using a grant scheme.

Climate Finance brings together Forum for the Future’s experience of managing sustainable innovation and starting-up new finance initiatives, with an Advisory Group of experts to help pioneering public sector organisations and local enterprises get their own, smart finance initiatives off the ground.
 
Unique programmes of work, including legal, financial, accounting, business start-up and carbon management components, help Climate Finance partners find the right answers quickly by building on cutting edge practice.

Over two years, Climate Finance aims to expand and demonstrate what’s possible by:

• catalysing innovative financing models that realise accelerated carbon emissions reductions;
• empowering and enabling more organisations to take bold action on climate change;
• shaping the debate on the effective use of public funds for tackling climate change.

Smarter finance is urgently needed to ramp up the scale and pace of carbon cutting activity in the current economic climate.  But finance directors and policy makers want replicable models and a solid business case to make the case for finance innovation.  Now is the time to seed pilot initiatives that can speak to decision-makers through results.

How Climate Finance can help
Who we work with
Forum for the Future is delighted to announce that five, pioneering partners have joined us as part of Climate Finance.  These are: West Sussex County Council, South East of England Development Agency, Eastleigh Borough Council, Low Carbon West Oxford and Ovesco Ltd.

All five organisations are now developing their smart finance initiatives with advice and guidance from Forum for the Future and our Advisory Group. We will update this webpage with further details of the initiatives as they evolve.

Find out more
We are keen to communicate what we learn from Climate Finance to interested organisations and individuals.  Get in touch with Louise Armstrong if you would like us to keep you informed.

For further details about the Climate Finance initiative, please contact Gemma Adams.