Weathering the Storm: Public Funding for Low-Carbon Energy in the Post Financial Crisis Era

In October 2010, the Sustainable Energy Finance Alliance (SEF) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) commissioned Bloomberg New Energy Finance to examine the role public finance institutions have played in sustaining the low-carbon energy sector during the recent global economic downturn. UNEP SEF Alliance also sought an assessment of the role these institutions should play going forward to foster growth of clean energy.

The findings of this report indicate that this is not the time for national governments to reduce their commitments. The report cautions governments that have recently funded clean energy technology development and deployment using stimulus funding that low-carbon clean energy funding should not be reduced, but expanded.

The UNEP SEF Alliance is a member-driven coalition of public and publicly backed organizations that finance sustainable energy markets and technologies in various countries. It was established in January 2008 and operates under the remit of the Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme. Clean Energy Group acts as Secretariat of the UNEP SEF Alliance.