Climate Innovation and Development Fund

What is the fund?

The Climate Innovation and Development Fund (CIDF) is a $25 million, ADB-managed concessional financing fund established with grant commitments from Bloomberg Philanthropies and Goldman Sachs. The purpose of the fund is to support sustainable low-carbon economic development in developing countries in South and Southeast Asia by increasing the pace, scale, and ambition of climate solutions and contributing to the clean energy transition.

What are the priorities?

CIDF has been designed to support climate mitigation and adaptation projects in India and Viet Nam. ADB will deploy funds as grants into its nonsovereign operations to support innovative and high impact climate projects. By offering concessional finance to de-risk projects, the fund aims to leverage up to $500 million in additional financing for private sector innovation in areas such as conventional and non-conventional renewable power generation, sustainable transport, climate-smart urban solutions, grid optimization technology, agriculture and land use, and green manufacturing and construction. ADB will select project types and financing models that are replicable and have a high potential to scale up in the broader market once initial successful transactions are demonstrated.

See how the fund is implemented.

What kind of activities are eligible?

Eligible non-sovereign projects in India and Viet Nam will have direct, measurable positive climate-related outcomes (mitigation and/or climate adaptation) that are documented by ADB. The fund will offer grants for high-impact, catalytic projects that demonstrate the need for a portion of concessional financing to reach financial close (i.e., projects that would not proceed solely on a commercial basis).

ADB will utilize the fund’s financing for projects that adhere to principles as agreed by development finance institutions on the use of blended concessional finance for private sector projects. These include: (i) rationale for using blended concessional finance, (ii) crowding-in and minimum concessionality, (iii) commercial sustainability, (iv) reinforcing markets and (v) promoting high standards.

Eligible project types include:

• Climate mitigation: solar, wind, hydro, biomass, and geothermal power, energy efficiency, sustainable transport, transmission and distribution, energy storage, energy management and smart metering, land use, agriculture and forestry, wastewater treatment, solid waste management, and the accelerated retirement of coal fired power plants.
• Climate adaptation: water supply and management, agriculture, forestry, land use and natural resource management, resilient infrastructure and coastal protection, and disaster risk management.

Other project types that demonstrate positive climate outcomes will also be considered.

Who is eligible to receive the support?

Funds will be used to support nonsovereign project finance and corporate finance transactions in India and Viet Nam. Recipients of grant proceeds will satisfy ADB’s eligibility requirements for nonsovereign operations.

Who supports the fund?

ADB established the fund with $25 million in grant commitments from Bloomberg Philanthropies and Goldman Sachs.

Where can I get more information?

Further information is available from the CIDF fund manager.