GFANZ launches emerging market transition finance platform

The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero has launched a public repository designed to simplify access to transition capital in emerging markets. The move addresses a structural problem: emerging economies account for roughly half of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet receive a fraction of available climate finance. Fragmented data and opacity around available funding mechanisms have made it difficult for smaller financial institutions and project developers to access capital.

The repository centralises information on financing opportunities, allowing users to compare terms, conditions, and instrument types across multiple sources. This is practical infrastructure rather than new money – but infrastructure matters. When a development finance institution, local bank, or project developer can quickly identify available capital and terms, deployment accelerates.

GFANZ groups over 650 financial institutions collectively managing more than $130 trillion in assets. Their members have committed to aligning portfolios with net-zero pathways, but emerging market finance remains a weak link in that transition. Capital flows to these economies still favour renewable energy and grid infrastructure – the "easier" transitions – while harder-to-abate sectors (cement, steel, agriculture) struggle to access structured financing.

The repository's value depends entirely on adoption and data quality. If participating institutions use it consistently, it becomes a genuine price-discovery mechanism. If participation is patchy or data stays incomplete, it becomes another well-intentioned directory gathering dust.

The real test: does this narrow the spread between emerging market and developed market borrowing costs for equivalent transition projects?

Platform launched at COP31 aims to scale transition capital in emerging markets

Report This Content