ABSTRACT
A wide range of national and international financial institutions have important roles to play in providing the necessary resources to help developing countries provide modern energy supplies to all their citizens using low-carbon fuels. 1 Dangerous climate change cannot be avoided without accomplishing both energy access for all and moving away from fossil fuels. This chapter analyses the role of the multilateral development banks (MDBs) 2 in financing the transition to a low-carbon future because they have the dual role of promoting economic development to address poverty, as well as providing a portion of the needed finance for energy. While the total amount of energy-related funding contributed by these institutions to emerging economies has been dwarfed in recent years by private commercial investors, the MDBs remain critical lenders to poor countries. They also influence private-sector finance because of the ‘seal of approval’ their participation brings to projects that they invest in, and their policy advice remains influential.
