【COP30 Side-Event】Japan's Blended Finance Journey towards Climate Transition

Day：2025.12.10

event ｜

Person in charge

Name	Organization	Position
Ryosuke Takahashi	Operations Strategy Department	Deputy Director

Overview

Date：2025/11/14
Host：JICA
Location（Pavilion Name)：International Development Finance Club Pavilion

Moderators and panelists

Name	Organization	Position
Kyosuke Inada	JICA	Director Genaral for Sustainability Management
Ryosuke Takahashi	JICA	Deputy Director, Operations Strategy Department
Sean Kidney	Climate Bonds Initiative	Chief Executive Officer (CEO）
Kirsty McNichol	Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia	Director of Climate Finance Section, Climate Resilience and Finance Branch
Matt Eldridge	Gates Foundation	Climate Finance Advisor
Clarisa De Franco	Allied Climate Partners	Senior Advisor
Muhammed Sayed, Specialist	Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)	Climate & Environment Finance Unit

Primary objectives and outcomes

・At COP29, the target of at least $300 billion in climate finance for developing countries was agreed, and all actors were called for actions to reach $1.3 trillion. In this context, mobilizing private capital and collaboration between private sector and public sector are essential to achieving goals.
・This event aims to share what JICA is working on in terms of blended finance and promote discussions between participants such as ministry/department, development finance institutions and philanthropic institutions which are likewise working on blended finance.

Content of the discussions

・At the beginning of the event, JICA's Deputy Director Takahashi provided an overview of JICA's Private Capital Mobilization Financing, an operation that makes catalytic investment in funds to attract private capital.
・Ms. McNicol cited the Australian government's blended finance initiatives, including fund investments through Australia Development Investment (ADI), the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), and investments through the Australian Climate Finance Partnership (ACFP) established at the Asian Development Bank. She also mentioned that the Export Finance Agency (EFA) is also working on blended finance. She further noted that in addition to climate change, gender is also an important sector, and noted the potential for synergistic effects between the two.
・Mr. Eldrick noted that the Gates Foundation's efforts include support at an upstream stage rather than fund investment. Specifically, he explained that Gates Foundation utilizes tools such as R&D, TA grants, direct investment, and guarantees to build complementary relationships with other organizations. He also mentioned that in the agricultural sector, in which he is involved, opportunities exist for adaptation and mitigation, such as strengthening the productivity and resilience of small farmers and wholesalers, and biofertilizers.

Ms. Franco explained that Allied Climate Partners is a philanthropic organization that invests in for-profit funds. She also noted that because the organization is not necessarily large, fund investment is an efficient approach. She noted the importance of addressing the risks, given the lack of data to determine investments in developing regions and the importance of building a track record of investments. She also mentioned the importance of investing in local funds and prioritizing development bottlenecks.

Mr. Said explained that, as a Green Climate Fund (GCF) accredited organization, DBSA provides subordinated loans using GCF funds, and emphasized the importance of supporting project preparation. He also mentioned the desire to replicate this in other regions. He mentioned opportunities in areas such as just transition, nature, and green hydrogen.

・The side event confirmed that it is important for institutions engaged in catalytic investments to collaborate with each other, including by sharing such knowledge.

・In his commentary on the side event, Mr. Kidney stated that capital exists in the market, and that it is important to mobilize this capital where it is needed, such as climate change. Regarding resilience, which is attracting much attention at COP30, he explained that it is a concept that does not only refer to physical resilience but also includes social resilience, and also pointed out its relevance to gender. He concluded by stressing the importance of financial engineering to mobilize capital, and of deepening collaboration among stakeholders.

1. Group Photo

2. Presenters