As a summer intern at the World Resources Institute (WRI) in the Markets and Enterprise Program, SNRE M.S. student Emily Taylor had the opportunity to be on the cutting edge of financing climate change mitigation.  Emily received funding for her internship through the Edna Bailey Sussman Fund Environmental Internship Program.  This generous funding enables SNRE students to accept non-paying internship positions in environmental fields. 

Emily’s work centered on “climate finance” – the evolving concept of leveraging public dollars to encourage private sector investment in low-carbon projects in the developing world.  Taylor notes, “If we can break down the barriers to investment for the private sector, the opportunities are endless.  These pledged dollars from the developed world will not be sufficient to adequately mitigate climate change.” 

From the WRI website:

“Reiterating a pledge made in Copenhagen in 2009, the Cancun Agreements of December 2010 formally commit developed countries to collectively provide resources “approaching USD 30 billion for the period 2010 - 2012” to support developing countries’ climate efforts. This so-called “fast-start” finance will help developing countries, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable, mitigate (reduce) their greenhouse gas emissions, and adapt and cope with the effects of climate change. These pledges also present an opportunity to build trust between developed and developing countries in the international climate arena, in turn fostering progress towards a comprehensive post-2012 international climate agreement.”

Taylor continues, “If we can leverage these “fast-start” dollars to break down the barriers to entry for the private sector, we can create an attractive investment environment and spur low-carbon development in the world’s least developed countries.”  But the bigger question still remains:  how do we do this?  Stay tuned – Taylor’s WRI team focused on writing two working papers over the summer, which soon may be published.  The first paper will likely serve as an introduction to climate finance and the tools and instruments that could be used to promote private investment in these low-carbon projects, and the second paper will likely explore the World Bank Group’s experiences in climate finance and the emerging trends and best practices.

Looking back and reflecting, Taylor says, “I learned so much during my three months at WRI.  WRI is such an impressive research organization and I feel honored and thankful to SNRE and the Sussman Foundation to have had this opportunity!"