The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (the Lab) launched an open call for innovative solutions to address barriers to climate investments in emerging markets while supporting a net zero economy transition.  

The application deadline is 26 December 2022, at 17:00 PST, and the new class will be announced in March 2023. 

The selected ideas will receive over seven months of intensive instrument design, market analysis, and funder, investor and implementation partner networking support from high-level leaders from the public and private sectors and Climate Policy Initiative’s team of experts.

In 2023, the Lab is looking for six climate finance ideas from two thematic streams and three regional programs.

• Climate Adaptation: innovative financial instruments that resolve market barriers and support scale-up of private finance for solutions that build climate resilience.
• Gender Equality: financial solutions that have both the advancement of gender equality and addressing climate change mitigation or adaptation as core objectives. 
• Open idea: new financial instruments that address barriers to sustainable investment in any climate-relevant sectors in emerging economies. 
• Brazil: finance solutions to drive funds for the country’s national climate priorities. 
• India: climate finance that supports infrastructure for renewable energy, energy transition, and other channels for green growth.  
• East and Southern Africa: innovative climate finance instruments that target any sector and will be implemented in any country, or group of countries, from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East Africa Community (EAC) regions. 

Submissions will be evaluated based on four criteria: actionability, innovation, catalytic potential, and financial sustainability, as well as their alignment with the Lab’s value-offering. Successful applications should present finance vehicles capable of offering returns for private investors, creating jobs and other local economic benefits, improving climate resilience, or decreasing emissions.  

On 29 November, the Lab is hosting a webinar (register here) covering the 2023 call for ideas’ application process. The session will present case studies from previous cycles and a Q&A segment. The Lab will also host a Portuguese webinar on 30 November (register here).