The San Giorgio Group was formed in 2011 to investigate ways that public finance could serve as a catalyst for private investment and how emerging forms of finance could support green low-emissions investment. At its second annual meeting in September 2012, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development Rachel Kyte gave opening remarks by video.
"All over the world, we're seeing that the smart packaging of policy reforms, and public funding is fostering much needed private sector investment in green development. But we're painfully aware that we're not moving at the speed that we would like to," Kyte said. "Actions are not yet at the pace or scale we need to meet the challenges ahead."
At this fall's meeting, the participants from organizations actively involved in low-emissions project financing discussed case studies of projects including the Program Solaire (Prosol) initiative in Tunisia that combines international and domestic support and programs and mechanisms designed to lower capital and credit costs, build awareness, and almost eliminate the credit default risk of banks. They also discussed success in the financing of offshore wind energy and the financing of emerging concentrated solar power technology at scale in Morocco.
