Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a new Green bank in his annual 'State of the State' address yesterday. He said the bank would focus on leveraging private sector capital for clean energy.
This is an excellent development. As we've argued since our inception, special purpose State financial institutions will play important enabling roles in leveraging private investment for public policy purposes.
1. The Indian government is planning to use the proceeds from their new coal tax to help set up a green bank to fund renewable energy projects. Now that's a good idea for countries like the US, Australia and Brazil!
2. New article: We can learn from Japanese state banks how to use Climate Bonds to fund the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Environment Business Australia (EBA) has put forward six key climate change recommendations to the new Australian Government, including climate bonds and a Green Investment Bank. EBA's Fiona Wain was first briefed on the Climate Bonds Initiative at the Copenhagen Conference last December.
The formal coalition agreement between the UK Conservative and Liberal-Democrats, released today, lists two key initiatives that have been part of Climate Bonds Initiative proposals:
- The creation of a green investment bank.- The provision of home energy improvement paid for by the savings from lower energy bills.
Also in the agreement is the provision of a floor price for carbon, something investors have been calling for.
All three are important and necessary changes relevant to governments everywhere.
